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HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS,

AND OF

THE HIGHLAND CLANS;

WITH AN EXTENSIVE SELECTION FROM THE HITHERTO INEDITED

STUART PAPERS;

JAMES BROWNE, LL.P., ADVOCATE.

A NEW EDITION,
aSlitb BxxtjO'iix Illusttatlbc ^ngrabings anO uumcious JJHooDcuift.

VOL. II.

A. FULLARTON & CO.,

EDINBURGH AND LONDON.
FllllABTOJi, MAfNAB i CO,, SEW YORK,

CONTENTS

THE SECOND VOLUME.

CHAPTER I.

The king rejects certain propositions made to liim — Conduct of the Scots army and
Commissioners, in regard to the delivery of the king — Commuriicates with the mar-
quis of Huntly about an e&cape — Return of the Scots army from England— Huntly
retires to Lochaber — Pursued by David Leslie — March of Leslie to the South — En-
camps in Strathallan — Advances into Aigyie and Kintyre — Defeats Sir Alexander
ftlacdonald, who flies into Ua — Surrender of Dunavertie castle — Garrison perfidiously
put to the sword — Leslie lands in Ila— Surrender of Dunniveg castle — Apprehension
and execution of Macdonald's father — Leslie lands in Jura, and afterwards in Mull —
Conduct of the chief of Maclean — Apprehension of Huntly — Rising of his vassals —
Irish prisoners shot at Strathbogy — Huntly imprisoned in the jail of Edinburgh —
Execution of Innermarkie, Newton-Gordon, the younger, and HarthiU — Hamilton's
Engagement — Warlike proceedings of the Scots parliament in behalf of the king —
Argyle obstructs the levies -Defeat of a body of insurgents at Mauchline— Departure
of Lord Reay for Denmark — March of Hamilton to the borders - Defeat of the rnyal-
ists at Preston — Rising of Covenanters in the west — They enter Edinburgh — Capture
of Stirling by the royalists, and flight of Argyle — Cromwell arrives in Edinburgh —
Struggles in the English parliament between the Presbyterians and Lidependents — ■
Trial and execution of the king — Execution of tlie duke of Hamilton and the marquis
of Huntly, pp. 1 — 22.

CHAPTER U.

Charles IL proclaimed king— Conduct of Argyle — Conditions offered to the king at the
Hague — Rejection of these, and return of the Commissioners — Proceedings of Mon-
trose— Descent upon Scotland resolved upon — Rising in the North under Pluscardin
— Inverness taken — JMarch of David Leslie to the North— Submission of Sir Thomas
Urquhart and others — Return of Leslie to the South — Pluscardin joined by Lord
Reay — Marches into Badenoch, where he is joined by Huntly — Piuscardin's men sur-
prised and defeated at Balveny — Landing of the Earl of Kinnoul in Orkney — The
cast;e of Birsay taken — Declaration of ISlontrose. and the Answers thereto — Arrival
of Montrose in Orkney — Crosses the Pentland Frith, and lands in Caithness — Sur-
render of Dunbeath castle — Advance of JMontrose into Sutlieriand — Defeated at
Carbisdale — Capture of Montrose by Macleod of Assynt — Sent tu Edinburgh —
Generous conduct of the people of Dundee — Reception of Montroso in Edinburgli — .
Behaviour and execution, .,..,.. pp. 20 — 50

CHAPTER lU.

Arrival of Charles H — His reception — Preparations of the English to invade Scotland
— Cromwell crosses the Tweed — Appearance of the country — Arrives at Musselburgh
— Attacks the Scottish army between Edinburgh and Leith, and repulsed — Puiging
of the Scottish army — Cromwell retires to Dunbar — Returns to Musselburgh — Moves
on Colinton — Scots draw up at Corstorphine — Cromwell returns to Musselburgh —
The Dunfermline Declaration — Retreat of Cromwell — Battle of Dunbar — Declaration
and Warning of the Kirk — Flight of the king from Perth — His capture — Insurrections
in the Highlands — Repressed — Proceedmgs of Cromwell — Conduct of the western
*rni\ — Defeated by Lambert — Preparations of the Scots for a new c;uii|'aign — Marcij

1v CONTENTS.

or Crumwell towards Stirling — Crosses the Forth at the Queenslerry — Defeat oi
Holburn — Death of the young chief of Maclean — Cromwell enters Perth — Scottish
array invades England— Followed by Cromwell — Battle of Worcester — Flight of the
king, pp. 61 — 74.

niAPTER IV.

Operations of Monk in Scotland — Storming of Dundee — Treaty with the Marquis of
Huntly and Lord Balearras — Fruitless expeditions into the Highlands — Administra-
tion of affairs under Monk — Insurrection in the Highlands under the Earl of Glen-
cairn — Defeat of Colonel Kidd — Retreat of Glencairn to Abernelhy forest — Defection
of Lord Lorn — Pursued by Glengarry — Glencairn joined by Colonel Wogan — Marches
to Elgin— Landing of Middleton in Sutherland — Joined by Glencairn — I\Iuster of the
army at Dornoch — Disputes among the royalists — Defection of Glencairn — Arrival
of Monk — Defeat of Middleton — Intrigues of Cromwell and Mazarine — Doubtful
policy of Monk — Negotiation between him and Charles II — Restoration of Charles —
Trial and execution of the Marquis of Argyle^-Feud between the Earl of Argyle and
the Macleans — Argyle invades Mull — Submission of the Macleans — They refuse to
pay the sums promised — Supported by other clans — Ineffectual attempt to invade
Mull a second time — Dispute referred to the privy council — The Highland liost in
the West — Trial and condemnation of the Earl of Argyle — He escapes — His expedi-
tion into Scotland — Apprehension and execution, . . . pp. 75 — 102.

CHAPTER V.

Unconstitutional proceedings of the king — Discontents — Designs of the Prince of Orange
— Remonstrances of James — Recriminations of the prince — Negotiations — Intrigues
of William — Pregnancy of the queen— Calumnious reports — Birth of the Prince of
Wales— Concessions of the king — He prepares for defence — Offers of service — Scot-
tish army marches into England — Meeting of the malcontents in Edinburgh — Landing
of the Prince of Orange — Tumult in Edinburgh — Meeting of the Privy Council —
Departure of the young prince of Wales and the queen for France — Flight and arrest
of the king — Riots in London — Return of the king to London — Negotiates with the
city — Departure of the king for France — Conduct of the duke of Gordon — IVIeeting
of Scottish peers and gentlemen in London — Convention of estates called — Castle of
Edinburgh summoned — Duke of Gordon denounced — Proceedings of the convention
— Departure of Dundee from Edinburgh, .... pp. 103 — 124.

niAPTER VI.

Dubious conduct of the king's adherents — Proceedings of the convention — Arrival of
Major-general Mackay — Plan for settling the government proposed and carried —
Crown of Scotland offered to, and accepted of, by William and Mar)' — Attempt to
apprehend Dundee, who escapes to the North — Retires to Inverness where he is
joined by Macdonald of Keppoch — Mackay marches to the North and advances upon
Inverness — Dundee retires through Badenoch into Athole — Surprises Perth and
appears before the town of Dundee — Retires into Loehaber— Colonel Ramsay arrives
at Perth, marches through Athole — Retreats to Perth— Advance of Mackay from
Inverness — Dundee marches into Badenoch — Mackay retreats through Strathspey and
encamps at Colmnakill — Disatlection among ISlackaj's troops — Ruthven Castle sur-
renders to Dundee — Mackay retreats farther down Strathspey — Followed by Dundee

— Retreat of Dundee — Skirmish between Mackay*s dragoons and the Macleans —
Oundee retires info Lochaber — Disbands his forces — Return of Mackay to Edin-
burgh, pp. 125 — 144.

CHAPTER VU.

Probabilities of success — Dundee solicits aid from Ireland — Plan of campaign — Prepar-
ations of Mackay — Conference between him and Lord Murray who proceeds to Athole

— Conduct of the Atholc-men — Arrival of an Irish Reinforcement which joins Dun-
dee— Departure of Mackay to Perth — March of Dundee into Athole — The Battle of
Killieerankie — Death and character of Dundee, . . pp. 146 — 17'

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VIII.

Permont in Edinburgh — Fones ordered to the West — Concentration of troo|i9 at Stir-
ling— Advance of Mackay to Perth, who cuts off a party of Athole-men — March of
Cannan to the North, followed by Mackay, who enters Aberdeen — Marches to Strath-
liogie — Cannan holds a council of war— Heturn of Cannan to the South— Skirmish
at Brechin^Defeat of the Highlanders at Dunkeld by the Cameronians — Capture of
the Castles of Blair and Finlarig by Mackay's forces — Plot to re?lore King James dis-
covered — Arrival of Major-General Buchan from Ireland, who holds a council of war
— Marches to the North — Skirmish at Cromdale — March of Mackay to Inverlochy —
Erection of Fort-William — Movements of Buchan and Cannan in the Lowlands — A
part of the Farquharsons cut off by Colonel Cunningham — Return of Mackay to the
North — Arrives at Inverness — Ketreat of Buchan — The Earl of Seaforth imprisoned —
Cessation of hostilities — Departure of Dundee's officers for France, pp. 172 — 196.

CHAPTER IX.

Hislory of Dundee's officers after their retirement to France, . pp 197 — 210.

CHAPTER X.
Massacre of Glenco. pp. 211-22(1

CHAPTER XI.

The Darien Company — Its Progress and Suppression — Death of the young Duke of
Gloucester — Hopes of the Jacobites — Act of Succession passed — Death of James II.
— His character — Death and character of King William — Accession of the Princess
Anne — Proceedings in the Scottish Parliament — Conspiracy of Simon Eraser, Lord
Lovat — Struggles in the Scottish Parliament about the succession — Nomination of
Commissioners to treat about a union with England — Ferment in Scotland against
the Union — .Hooke's negotiation — Preparations in France for invading Scotland —
Sailing of the French fleet with the Chevalier de St George — Unsuccessful result of
tlie expedition — State of Scotland — Proceedings of the Jacobites — Death of Queen
Anne, .......... pp. 227 — 254.

CHAPTER XIL

Proceedings of the Whig ministry — Declaration of the Chevalier de St George — Meet-
ing of the Parliament — Arrival of George I. in England — Conduct of the Earl of
iMar — New Parliament assembled — Intrigues of the Jacobites — Character of the Earl
of Mar — Departs from England to erect the standard of revolt in Scotland — Sum-
mons a meeting of the Jacobites under the pretence of a hunting-match — Addresses
the meeting, and informs them of his designs — Principal Jacobite chiefs summoned
to appear at Edinburgh — The Chevalier de St George proclaimed by Mar, who raises
the standard of revolt in Braemar — Sends a circular letter to the gentlemen of Perth-
shire— Issues a declaration — Letter by Mar to the bailie of Kildrummy — Death of
Louis XIV. — Manifesto of the Jacobite chiefs, . . . pp. 255—275.

CHAPTER XIII.

Active measures of the govtrnment to suppress the insurrection — Ineffectual attempt
lo surprise the castle of Edinburgh — Duke of Argyle appointed to the command ul
the government forces — Expeditions of General Gordon and Campbell of Glenlyon
into Argyle — Armistice between Glenlyon and the Campbells — Chevalier proclaimed
at Moulineain by Mar— Capture of Perth by the rebels — Seize a vessel with arms at
Burntisland — Insurrection in Northumberland — Capture of Holy Island — Prepara-
tions for the defence of Newcastle — Affair at Keith — Insurrection in the south of Scot-
land under Viscount Kenmure — Expedition of Brigadier Mackintosh — Crosses the
Frilh of Forth — L.iti.U at North Berwick and other places in the neighbourhood—

VI CONTENTS.

March of Mackintosn towards Edinburgh— Enters Leith — JIarch of the Duke of Ar-
gyle to Leith — Retires — Retreat of Mackintosh — Reaches Kelso and joins the forces
under Forster — Disputes among the Insurgents — Secession of five hundred High-
landers— .March of the rebels through Cumberland and Westmoreland — Battle of
Preston VV- 276—314.

CHAPTER XIV.

Mar issues an order of assessment — Detachment of his army surprised at castle Campbell
— Preparations for opening the campaign — Departure from Perth — Junction of the
western clans— Advance of Argyle from Stirling — Enters Dunblane — Preparations
for battle — Battle of Sheriffmuir — Reluni of Mar to Perth, and of Argyle to Stirling
— Capture of Inverness — Arrival of the Chevalier— Met hy Mar at Fetteresso — His
reception by the non-jurant clergy — Issues a variety of proclamations — Preparations
of the Duke of Argyle — Retreat of the Jacobite army from Perth — Deimrture of the
Chevalier for France — Conclusion of the Insurrection, . . pp. UI5 — 344.

CHAPTER XV.

Leturn of the Duke of Argyle to Edinburgh — Trial of Lord Charles Murray ana
others — Execution of Major Nairne, Captain Lockhart, and others — Impeachment
and trial of the Jacobite Peers taken at Preston — Ineffectual applications for mercy —
Proceedings in parliament — Address to the King in behalf of the condemned Lords
by the House of Peers — Dismissal from office of Peers who supported the petition of
the Jacobite Lords — Escape of the Earl of Nilhsdale — Execution of the Earl of Der-
wentwatcr and Viscount Kenmure — Trial and condemnation of the Earl of Winton

Escapes to France — Bills of high treason against Brigadier .Mackintosh and others

Escape of Mackintosh, Forster, and others — Executions in London and Lancashire

— Reaction against the government — Septennial act — Proceedingsof General Cadogan
in the Highhmds — Commission of Oyer and Terminer — Act of grace — Dismissal of the
Duke of Argyle from office — Continental affairs — Plan of an invasion by Russia and
Sweden — Rupture with Spain — Intrigues of the Jacobites at Madrid — Spanish inva-
sion threatened — Sailing and dispersion of the Spanish fleet — Landing and surrender
of a body of Spaniards in the western Highlands, . . pp. 345 — a62.

CHAPTER XVL

Prudent conduct of the Jacobites in the south of Scotland — The Pretender appoints Trus-
tees for managing his affairs in Scotland — Letter from him upon the subject — Discovery
of a new Jacobite conspiracy — Arrests — Preparations of the Government — Committal
of Atterbury, Bishop of Rochester, on a charge of high treason — Meeting of a new
Parliament — Habeas-corpusact suspended — Declaration of the Chevalier de St George
— Severe proceedings against the Catholics — Trial and Execution of Layer — Trial and
Banishment of Atterbur; — Return of Lord Bolirigbroke to England — Causes thereof

Act for preserving the peace of the Highlands — Meeting of some Highland Chiefs

at Paris — Resolution adopted by them — Preparations of General Wade to disarm the
Highlanders — Oimp formed at Inverness — The Mackenzies and others sunmit — Pro-
posed alli.ance between the Jacobites and the Cameronians — Disgrace of the Earl of
Mar — Its conseciuences — Allerbury's charges against Blar, who justifies himself — The
Consort of the t:lievalier retires to a Convent — Cause of the separation — Death of
George 1. — Arrival of the Chevalier in Lorraine — His reasons for this step — Returns
to Italy, . pp. 363-3ill.

CHAPTER XVII.

Treaties of Seville and Paris — Dis|)Utes in Par lament about reducing the army — In-
effectual attempt to repeal the septennial act — Message from the Crown to augment
the forces — Debates — New Parliament — Whig and Tory invectives — Convention of
the Prado — Debates in Parliament — Defeat of the Tories, who retire from Parliament
— Scheme of Lord-President Forbes for securing the allegiance of the Clans — War
with Spain— Lord Marischal sent to Madrid by the Chevalier de St George— Jacobite
jssociutioa in Edinburgh — Drummond of Bochaldy arrives at ,Rome — Jacobite in-

CONTENTS. Vll

ir'gues at Paris — Death of the Kin|iiTor Ch.irli-s VI. —Accession of Maria Theresa-
Confederacy asainst her — Neutrality of Hanover — Meeting of the Hungarian Diet -
Speech of tlio Queen — Aiistrians ravage Bavaria — Uetiremenl of VValpole — I'roposc.l
overtures to the discontented Whig* from the Chevaher de St (Jeorge — Drumrnond
of Bochaldy arrives at Edinburgh, and Murray of Broughton at Paris — Plan of a

French invasion Charles, eldest son of the Chevalier de St George, arrives at Paris

Preparations for invasion — Alarm of the British ministry— Preparations for defence

Sailing of the French fleet — Embarkation and failure of the expedition — Declara-

lion of war between France and England — Arrival of .Murray of Broughton at Paris
—Interview with the Prince, who resolves to proceed to Scotland, . pp. 392 — 41!).

AfPF.sDix. No. I— XXXV 4-j;i-47ti

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

CHAPTER I.

ITie king rejects certuiii proposiliuiis made to him — Cunduet of the Scots nrmy and com-
missioners, in regard tu tile delivery of the king— Communicates with the marquis o(
Huntly about an escape — Return of the Scots army from England — Huntiy retires
to Lochaber — Pursued by David Leslie — March of Leslie to the south — Encamps in
Strathallan — Advances into Argyle and Kintyre — Defeats Sir Alexander Macdonald,
who flies into Ila — Surrender of Dunavertie castle — Garrison perfidiously put to the
sword — Leslie laitds in Ila — Surrender of Dunniveg castle — Apprehension and exe-
cution of Macdonald's father. Leslie lands in Jura, and afterwards in Mull — Con-
duct of the chief of Maclean — Apprehension of Huntly — Rising of his vassals — Irish
prisoners shut at Strathbogy — Huntly imprisoned in the jail of Edinburgh — Execu-
tion of Innermarkie, Newton-Gordun, the younger, and Harthill — Hamilton's En-
gagement— Warlike proceedings of the Scots parliament in behalf of the king — Ar-
gyle obstructs the levies — Defeat of a body of insurgents at Mauchline — Departure of
Loiil Reay for Dcnmaik — March of Hamilton to the borders — Defeat of the royalists
at Preston — Rising of Covenanters in the west — They enter Edinburgh — Capture of
Stirling by the royalists, and flight of Argyle — Cromwell arrives in Edinburgh-
Struggles in the English pailiameat between the Presbyterians and independents-
Trial and execution of the king — Execution of the duke of Hamilton and the marquis
of Huntly.

As soon as the iiews of the flight of tlie king reached London, tlie
greatest agitation prevailed ; and the two great parties — the Presbyte
rians and Independents — each of which was struggling for ascendency,
became even still more distrustful of one another; but when they ascertain-
ed the place of his retreat, they joined in reprobating the conduct of the
Scots, who, they erroneously supposed, had induced the king to put
himself in their power. The possession of the royal person had been
long desired by both factions as of paramount importance in paving the
way for the accomplishment of their respective objects ; but the une.v-
pected step which the king had just taken seemed to render their pros-
pects for ever hopeless. But they soon found that the case was not so
bad as they had imagined for the king was not only prevailed upon to
order his officers to surrender the fortresses which they still retained,
but to become a suppliant for peace by requesting botli houses of par-
liament to offer him propositions for consideration.

Some of these propositions were, however, such as the king could
not, in conscience, submit to, and others were quite incompatible with
monarchical government. The refusal of the king to agree to these con-
ditions, one of which stipulated the establishment of the Directory, and
the recognition of the Westminster Confession, while it displeased the
presbyterian party, inspired the independents with fresh hopes, and
tlie latter now began to indicate pretty plainly their intention of de-
throning the king. While the two houses were engaged in new delibe-
rations, in consequence of the king's refusal to accede, the chancellor

•2 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

(Loudon), the marquis of Argyle, and the earl of Dunfermline, who Una
offered to the king to go up to London, and treat with the parliament
for a mitigation of the propositions, arrived in London ; but, as the
ro3'alists had observed, it was soon seen " that their treating would end
in a bargain ;"* for, although professing themselves great sticklers
for the freedom, honour, and safety of the king, they not only offered
to concur in any measures that parliament might propose, should the
king remain obstinate, but oflered to withdraw the Scots army from
England, on receiving paj'ment of the arrears of pay due to the army
for its services. Such an offer was too tempting to be withstood ; and a
committee having been appointed to adjust the balance due to the Scots,
it was finally agreed by the latter, after many charges on both sides
had been disallowed,f to accept of £400,000 in full of all demands, one
moiety of which was to be paid before the Scots army left England and
the other after its return to Scotland.

Whatever may have been the understanding between the Scots com-
missioners and the English parliament as to the disposal of the king, it
is certain that in fixing the terms on which the Scots army should retire
from England, that question was left quite open for discussion, as is
sufficiently instructed by the subsequent vote of the two houses, that the
right of disposing of the king belonged to the parliament of England, a
vote which " g.ave birth to a controversy unprecedented in liistory,"| and
«hich threatened to involve the two nations in war. To say, therefore,
that the Scots nation sold their king is a foul calumny, refuted by the
whole history of the transactions which preceded the delivery of the king
to the English parliamentary commissioners, for although a majority of
the persons who attended the Scottish parliament complied with the de-
mand of the English parliament for possession of the king's person, a
virtuous minority, with whom was the great bulk of the nation, voted
against it. A celebrated historian who may be supposed very impartial
in his views of the conduct of the Scots on this occasion, because opposed
to the common opinion of his countrymen, thus defends the Scottish nation
from the charge in question. " The royalists ever since the king's visit to
Newark, had viewed with anxiety and terror the cool calculating policy
of the Scots. The result converted their suspicions into certitude : they
hesitated not to accuse them of falsehood and perfidy, and to charge
them with having allured the king to their army by deceitful promises,
that, Judas-like, they might barter him for money with his enemies-
Insinuations so injurious to the character of the nation ought not to be
lightly admitted. That fanaticism and self-interest had steeled the
breasts of the covenanters against the more generous impulses of loj'alty
and compassion, may indeed be granted ; but more than this cannot
be legitimately inferred from any proof furnished by history, l"* The

• Guthn-.

f Amonjjst the many items set up hy llie Ei)<;listi parli;in>*^ni aj^auistthc claims of the
Scots, there was one. ac*oriliiig to Bishop Guthry, of £80,0!Mi ■sterling, " for th« cab-
bage the Scots had devoured \'.\" t Ungard. »ni yi, i> 56(5.

NEGOTIATIONS ABOUT THE KING. 3

despatclips of Moiitrevli make it evident, that the verbal engageraeTit of
the commissioners at London was disavowed by the commissioners witli
the army before Newark ; that the king was officially informed that it
would never be carried into execution ; and that, if lie afterwards sought
an asylum among the Scots, lie was not drawn thither by their promises,
but driven by necessit3' and despair. S"' If the delivery of the royal
person, connected as it was with the receipt of £200,000, bore the ap-
pearance of a sale, it ought to be remembered, that the accounts be-
tween the two nations had been adjusted in the beginning of September ;
that, for four months afterwards, they never ceased to negotiate in favour
of Charles ; nor did they resign the care of his person till the votes of the
English parliament compelled them to make the choice between com-
pliance and war. It may be, that in forming their decision their per-
sonal interest was not forgotten ; but there was another consideration
which had no small weight even with the friends of the monarch. It
was urged, that by suffering the king to reside at Holmby, they woukl
do away the last pretext for keeping on foot the array under the com-
mand of Fairfax ; the dissolution of that army would annihilate the in
fluence of the independents, and give an undisputed ascendancy to the
Presbyterians, the first, the declared enemies, the others the avowed
advocates of Scotland, of the kirk, and of the king ; and the necessary
consequence must be, that the two parliaments would be left at liberty
to arrange in conformity with the covenant, both the establishment of
religion and the restoration of the throne."*

While the negotiations for the delivery of the king were pending,
Charles, who seems to have been fully aware of them, meditated the
design of escaping from the Scots army, and putting himself at the
head of such foi-ces as the marquis of Huntly could raise in the north.
In pursuance of this design, his majesty, about the middle of December,
sixteen hundred and forty-six, sent Robert Leslie, brother of General
David Leslie, with letters and a private commission to Huntly, by
which he was informed of his majesty's intentions, and Huntly was,
therefore, desired to levy what forces he could, and have them in readi-
ness to take the field on his arrival in the north. On receipt of his ma-
jesty's commands, Huntly began to raise forces, and having col-
lected them at Banft', he fortified the town, and there awaited the
king's arrival.f But the king was prevented from putting his plan into
execution by a premature discovery. It is stated by Guthry that Les-
lie and his committee having begun to talk of confining his majesty, and
" that it might be handsomely done, and upon some shew of reason, Wil-
liam Murray, of the bed-chamber, furnished a pretext, suggesting pri-
vately to his majesty something concerning an escape, and offering to
make his way, and have a ship in readiness to transport him." He
then observes that it is uncertain " what entertainment his majesty gave

• Liiijanl, vol. vi. t Gordon's Continuation, p. 536.

4 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

to the motion," but that, " before the time carae which William Mur-
ray liad set, it was so divulged that there was no other discourse
throughout the army but of William Murray's plot to carry away the
king ; and thereupon, a guard of soldiers was presently planted at his
chamber-door, both within and without ; whereby his majesty was not
only deprived of liberty, but also of quiet and retirement ; and having
ail antipathy against tobacco, was much perplexed by reason of their
continual smoking by him."* Altliough Murray, who, upon the dis-
covery, retired to London, was imprisoned at the instigation of the
Scots commissioners for planning the king's escape, yet it was believed
by the " malignants" to be a mere pretence to deceive the king, whom
they supposed he had betrayed in the expectation that should his ma-
jesty be again induced to trust him he might render thera farther ser-
vice.f

After the delivery of the king to the English, on the twenty-eighth
day of January, one thousand six hundred and forty-seven, the Scots
army returned to Scotland. It was thereupon remodelled and reduced,
by order of the parliament, to six thousand foot, and twelve hundred
horse, a force which was considered sufficient not only to keep the
royalists in awe, but also to reduce tlie marquis of Huntlj' and Sir
Alexander Macdonalil, who were still at the head of some forces.
The dispersion, therefore, of the forces under both these com-
manders became the immediate object of the parliament. An attempt
had been made in the month of January, sixteen hundred and forty-
Bcven, by a division of the covenanting army stationed in Aberdeen-
shire, under the command of Major Bickcrton, to surprise the marquis
of Huntly at Banff', but he had been obliged to retire with loss; and
Huntly continued to remain in his position till the month of April, when,
on the approach of General David Leslie with a considerable force, he
Hed with a few friends to the mountains of Lochaber for shelter. Leslie
thereupon reduced the castles belonging to the marquis. He first took
that of Strathbogie, and sent the commander thereoti the laird of New-
ton-Gordon, to Edinburgh, then the castle of Lesmore ; and lastly, the
Bog of Gieht, or Gordon castle, the commander of which, James Gor-
don of Letterfurie, and his brother, Thomas Gordon of Clastirim, and
other gentlemen of the name of Gordon, were sent to Edinburgh as
prisoners. Leslie next took the isle of Lochtanner, in Aboyne, which
had been fortified by Huntly.:]; Quarter was given to the men who
garrisoned those diff'erent strengths, with the exception of the Irish and
deserters, who were hanged immediately on their capture.§

Having taken these different places, Leslie next marched into Bade-
noeh, in quest of the marquis, where he captured the castle of Ruthven,
From thence he proceeded into Lochaber, and took the fortress of In-
verlocliy. The covenanting general, thereupon, marched to the south with

• Memoirs, p l'<5. ♦ Ibid. t Gmilon's Cominunlioii, p. 537. 1 Gatliry.

DEFEAT nr SIR ALEXANDER MACDONALD IN KINTYRE 5

apart of his forces, leaving the remainder in the north, under the command
of Jliddleton, and encamped in Strathallan, he himself taking up his
head quarters in Dunblane. Here he remained till the middle of May,
when he was joined by the marquis of Argyle, and ordered to advance
into that nobleman's country to drive out Sir Alexander Macdonald.
Accordingly, he began his march on the seventeenth of JMay, and ar-
rived at Inverary on the twenty-first. Sir Alexander Macdonald was
at this time in Kintyre, with a force of about fourteen hundred foot and
two troops of horse, which would have been fully sufficient to have
checked Leslie, but he seems not to have been aware of the advance of
Leslie, and had taken no precautions to guard the passes leading into
that peninsula, which might have been successfully defended by a hand-
ful of men against a considerable force. Having secured these difficult
passes, Lesl'C- advanced into Kintyre, and after skirmishing the whole of
the twenty-fifth of May with Macdonald, he forced him to retire. After
throwing three hundred men into a fortress on the top of the hill of
Dunavertie, and in which " there was not a drop of water but what fell
from the clouds,"* Macdonald, on the following day, embarked his
troops in boats provided for the occasion, and passed over into Ila.

Leslie, thereupon, laid siege to the castle of Dunavertie, which was
well defended ; but the assailants having carried a trench at the bottom
of the hill which gave the garrison the command of water, and in the
Btorming of which the besieged lost forty men, the latter craved a par-
ley, in consequence of which Sir James Turner, Leslie's adjutant-gene-
ral, was sent to confer with the garrison on the terms of surrender.
Leslie would not grant " any other conditions than that they should
yield on discretion or mercy. And it seemed strange to me (continues
Sir James Turner) to hear the lieutenant-general's nice distinction, thai
they should yield themselves to the kingdom's mercy, and not to his.
At length they did so, and after they were come out of the castle, they
were put to the sword, every mother's son, except one young man,
Maccoul, whose life I begged to be sent to France, with a hundred
fellows w hich we had smoked out of a cave, as they do foxes, who were
given to Captain Campbell, the chancellor's brother." f This atro-
cious act was perpetrated at the instigation of John Nave or Neaves, " a
bloody preacher," f but, according to Wodrow, an "excellent man,'
who would not be satisfied with less than the blood of the prisoners. As
the account given by Sir James Turner, an eye-witness of this infamous
transaction, is curious, no apology is necessary for inserting it. " Here
it will be fit to make a stop, till this cruel action be canvassed. First,
the lieutenant-general was t«o days irresolute what to do. The mar-
quis of Argyle was accused at his arraignment of this nmrder, and 1
was examined as a witness. I declared, which was true, that I never
heard him advise the lieutenant-general to it. What he did in private

- Turner's Memnirs. t Iliid. | Giithry.

G HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

I know not Secondly, Argyle was bui a colonel then, and he had no
power to do it of himself. Thirdly, though he had advised him to it, it
was no capital crime; for counsel is no command. Foiirtlilj', I have
several times spoke to the lieutenant-general to save thi'se men's lives,
and he always assented to it, and I know of himself he was unwilling tu
shed their blood. Fifthly, Mr .John Nave (who was appointed by
the commission of the kirk to wait on him as his chaplain) never
ceased to tempt him to that bloodshed, yea, and threatened him with
the curses befell Saul for sparing the Amalekites, for with them his
theology taught him to compare the Dunavertie men. And I verily
believe that this prevailed most with David Leslie, who looked upon
Nave as the representative of the kirk of Scotland." The statement of
Sir James and David Leslie's repugnance to shed the blood of those de-
tisnceless men is fully corroborated by Bishop Gutliry, en the authority
of many persons who wore present, who says that while the butchery
was going on, and while Leslie, Argyle, and Neaves were \^alking over
the ancles in blood, Leslie turned out and thus addressed the latter : —
" Now, ]Mr John, have you not once got your fill of blood ?" The
sufferers on this occasion were partly Irish, and partly belonging to thu
clan Dougal or Coull, to the castle of whose chief, in Lome, Colonel
Robert Montgomerie now laid siege, while Leslie himself, with a part
of his forces, left Kintyre for Ila in pursuit of Macdonald.

On landing in Ila, Leslie found that Macdonald had fled to Ireland,
and had left Colkittoch, his father, in the castle of Dunniveg, with a
force of two hundred men to defend the island against the superior power
of Leslie. The result turned out as might have been anticipated. Al-
though the garrison made a brave resistance, yet, being wholly without
water, they found themselves unable to resist, and offered to capitulate
on certain conditions. These were, that the officers should be entitled
to go where they pleased, and that the privates should be sent to France.
These conditions were agreed to, and were punctually fulfilled. Old Col-
kittoch had, however, the misfortune not to be included in this capitu-
lation, for, before the castle had surrendered, " the old man. Coll, (says
Sir James Turner) coming foolishly out of the house, where he was
governor, on some parole or other,* to speak with his old friend, the
captain of Dunstaffnage castle, was surprised, and made prisoner, not
without some stain to the lieutenant-general's honour. He was after-
wards, hanged by a jury of Argyle's sheriff-depute, one George Camp-
bell, from whose sentence few are said to have escaped that kind of
death."

Leaving Ila, Leslie " boated over to Jura, a horrible isle (says Sir
James Turner), and a habitation fit for deer and wild beasts ; and so
from isle to isle (continues he) till he came to Mull, which is one of the
best of the Hebrides. Here Maclaine saved his lands, with the loss of

* Spalding says that. Col Kittocli came nut of the castle to neat for a surrender on ud
asiiurance of personal safety.

APPKEHENSION OF THE MARQUIS OF HUNTLY. 7

Ills reputation, if lie ever had any. He gave up Ins strong castles tu
Leslie, gave his eldest sonne for hostage of his fidelity, and, which was
unchristian baseness in the lowest degree, he delivered up fourtecij
prettie Irishmen, who liad been all along faithful to him, to the lieu-
tenant-general, who immediately caused hang them all. It was not
well done to demand them from Maclaine, but inexcusablie ill done in
him to betray them. Here I cannot forget one Donald Campbell,
fleshed in blood from his very infancie, who with all imaginable violence
pressed that the whole clan Maclaine should be put to the edge of the
sword ; nor could he be commanded to forbear his bloody suit by the
lieutenant-general and two major-generals ; and with some difficulty was
he commanded silence by his chief, the marquis of Argyle. For ray
part, I said nothing, for indeed I did not care though he had prevailed
in his suit, the delivery of the Irish had so irritated me against tliat
whole clan and name."

While Leslie was thus subduing the Hebrides, Middleton was occu-
pied in pursuing the marquis of Huntly through Glen-moriston, Bade-
noch, and other places, who was at length captured by Lieutenant-
Colonel Menzies, in Strathdon, in the month of December, sixteen
hundred and forty-seven. Having received intelligence of the place of
the marquis's retreat, Menzies came to Dalnabo with a select body of
liorse, consisting of ihree troops, about midniglit, and immediately en-
tered the house just as Huntly was going to bed. The marquis was at-
tended by only ten gentlemen and servants, as a sort of body-guard,
who, notwithstanding the great disparity of numbers, made a brave at-
tempt to protect the marquis, in which six of them were killed and the
rest mortally wounded, among whom was John Grant, the landlord.
On hearing that the marquis had been taken prisoner, the whole of his
vassals in the neighbourhood, to the number of between four and five
hundred, with Grant of Carron at their head, flew to arms to rescue
him. Lieutenant-Colonel Menzies thereupon carried the Marquis to
the castle of Blairfindie, in Glenlivet, about four miles from Dalnabo,
where the marquis received a notice from Grant and his party by the
wife of Gordon of Munmore, that they had solemnly sworn that they
would either rescue him or die to a man, and they requested him to
give them such orders to carry their plan into erfect as he might judge
proper. But the marquis dissuaded his people from the intended attempt,
and returned for answer that, now almost worn out with grief and fa-
tigue, he could no longer live in hills and dens ; and hoped that
Ills enemies would not drive things to the worst ; but, if such was the
will of heaven, he could not outlive the sad fate he foresaw his royal
master was likely to undergo ; and be the event as it would, he doubted
not but the just providence of God would restore the royal lii:v.ily, and
his own along with it.*

• Gordon's Hisloryofthe Family of Gordon, vol. ii. p. 646.

a HISTORY OF THK HIGHLANDS.

Besides the gentlemen and servants about Huntly's person, there were
some Irish who were quartered in the offices about Dalnabo. These
were carried prisoners by Menzies to Strathbogy, where Middletou
then was, who ordered them all to be shot, a sentence wliich was car-
ried into immediate execution.* In consequence of an order from the
committee of estates at Edinburgh, Menzies carried the marquis under
a strong guard of horse to Leith, where, after being kept two days, he
was delivered up to the magistrates, aud incarcerated in the jail of tlie
city. The committee had previously debated the question whether the
marquis should be immediately executed or reprieved till the meeting
of parliament, but although the Argyle faction, notwithstanding the
marquis of Argyle withdrew before the vote was taken, and the com-
mittee of the church did every thing in their power to procure the im-
mediate execution of the marquis, his life was spared till the meeting of
the parliament by a majority of one vote.f The earl of Aboyne and
Lord Lewis Gordon had the good fortune to escape to the continent.
The first went to France, where he shortly thereafter died — the
second took refuge in Holland. A reward of £1,000 sterling had
been promised to any pei'son who should apprehend Huntly, and for
payment of which sum Menzies accordingly obtained an order, on sixth
January, sixteen hundred and forty-eight, from the committee of
estates. J

It has been made the ground of a charge by the author of the history
of tlie family of Gordon against Hamilton and Argyle, " to whom Huntly
trusted so much," that they were " the first signers" of this order ; but
there seems to be really no room for accusation on this score, as
these two noblemen merely signed the document in the order of prece-
dence of rank before the rest of the committee. However, there seems
to be no doubt that Argyle felt a malignant gratification at the capture
of Huntly, and it is related by Spalding, that taking advantage ot
Huntly's situation, Argyle bought up all the comprisings on Huntly's
lands, and that he caused summon at the market-cross of Aberdeen by
sound of trumpet, all Huntly's wadsetters and creditors to appear at
Edinburgh in tlie month of March following Huntly's imprisonment,
calling on them to produce their securities before the lords of session,
with certification that if they did not appear, their securities were to
be declared null and void. Some of Huntly's creditors sold their claims
to Argyle, and having thus bought up all the rights he could obtain
upon Huntly's estate at a small or nominal value, under the pretence
that he was acting for the benefit of his nephew. Lord Gordon, he
granted bonds for the amount which, according to Spalding, he never
paid. In this way did Argyle possess himself of the marquis's estates,
which he continued to enjoj' upwards of twelve years ; viz., from six-

• Spalding. f Guthiy, p. 207.

} See tlie Act of Sederunt of the committee in Ute appendix to Cordon's Hrstury o/
Ihe f.imily of (jurdon, vol. ii. D. S37.

EXECUTION OF GORDON OF INNERMARKIE AND OTHERS. »

(cell hundred ami forty-eight, till the restoration of Charles II. in six-
teen hundred and sixty.

When the king, wlio was then a prisoner in Carisbrook castle, heard
of the capture of Huntly, lie wrote the following letter to tlie earl of
Lanark, tlien in London, in favour of the marquis : — *

" Lanerk. — Hearing that the marquis of Huntlj' is taken, and know-
mg tlie danger tliat he is in, I both strictly command you as a master,
and earnestly desire you as a friend, that you will deal effectually with
all those whom you have any interest in, for the saving of his life- It were,
I know, lost time to use arguments to you for this, wherefore, I judge
these lines necessary to add to your power, though not to your willing-
ness, to do this most acceptable service for,

" Your most assured, real, constant friend,

" CHARLES R."
Carisbrook, )^
nth December, 1647. J

The earl, either from unwillingness or inability, appears to have paid
no attention to this letter.

Shortly before the capture of the marquis of Huntly, John Gordon
of Innermarkie, Gordon, younger of Newton-Gordon, and the laird of
Harthill, three of his chief friends, had been taken prisoners by Major-
General IMiddleton, and sent to Edinburgh, where they were imprisoned.
The two latter were condemned to die by the committee of estates, and
although their friends procured a remission of the sentence from the
king, they were, notwithstanding, both beheaded at the market-cross of
Edinburgh. Harthill suffered on the twenty-sixth of October, sixteen
hundred and forty-seven, and Newton-Gordon a few days thereafter.

While the hopes of the royalists, both in England and Scotland,
seemed to be almost extinguished, a ray of light, about this time, dart-
ed through the dark gloom of the political horizon, which they fondly
imagined was the harbinger of a new and a better order of things ; but
all their expectations were destined to end in bitter disappointment.
The king, who had hitherto alternately intrigued with the Presbyteri
ans and Independents, that he might circumvent both, was now induced
by the Scots commissioners, who had repaired to Carisbrook castle, to
break with the Independents, by refusing the royal assent to four bills,+

• Burnet's Hamiltons, p. 323
t According to Clarendon, (History, vol. iii. p. 88,) the king was, by one of these
bills, to have confessed himst-lf the author of the war, and guilty of all the blood wliich
had been spilt; by another, he was to dissolve the government of the church, and grant
all lands belonging to the church to otlier uses; by a third, to settle the militia without
reserving so much power to himself as any subject was capable of; and in the last place
he was in etlect to sacrifice all those who had saved him, to the mercy of the parliament.
But Dr Lingard has shown how little credit is due to these assertions, by giving tlie
•ubstaiice of these bills. The first, after vesting the command of the army in the par-
II B

10 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

which the two houses of parliament had prepared ; and to enter into a
treaty with the Presbyterians, by which the king agreed to the estab-
hshment of Presbyterianisni, but only as an experiment for three j'ears.
Although the terras of tliis treaty were more favourable to the king
than those in the bills which he rejected, his friends were sorry that his
majesty had refused to acce(io to the latter, as they had no confidence
in those with whom he Iiad contracted. But the treaty was not less
disagreeable to his majesty's friends tiian to his bitterest enemies, for no
sooner had the committee of the kirk received notice of it than they
remonstrated against it; and when tlie Scots parliament met in March,
sixteen hundred and forty-eight, the ministers, Douglas, Dick, Blair,
Cant, Livingston, and Gillespie, and the laird of Dundas, Sir James
Stewart and George Winram, ruling elders, presented a declaration
against the treat}', which tliey considered destructive of the covenant.
Notwithstanding the opposition on the part of the kirk, and of Argyle
and his party, and the money and intrigues of the English commission-
ers who had been sent to Scotland to watch the proceedings of the king's
party, the duke of Hamilton, who had lately formed an association tOy
release the king from his captivity, which went under the name of the
" Engagement," prevailed upon the parliament to appoint a committee
of danger, and to consent to a levy of forty thousand men.

The time seemed propitious for the interests of the king. The bulk
of the English population, with the exception of the army, had grown
quite dissatisfied with the state of matters, and they now began to per-
ceive, when too late, that they had only exchanged one system of ty-
ranny for one still more insupportable, the despotism of a standing
army led by needy and unprincipled adventurers. In short, the people,
disgusted by military exactions, and dreading an aliolition of the mon-
archy, sighed for the restoration of the king, as the only means of de-
livering them from the tyranny under which they groaned. The eyes
of the English nation were now directed towards Scotland, and the
news of the Scots' levy made them indulge a hope that they would soon
be enabled, by the aid of the Scots auxiliaries, to throw ofl^ the military
yoke, and restore the king on conditions favourable to liberty. But
Hamilton, being thwarted by the Argyle faction, unfortunately had it
not in his power to take advantage of the favourable disposition of the
English people, and instead of raising forty thousand men, he found,
to his great mortification, that, at the utmost, he could, after upwards

liitment for twenty years, eiiactud, that after lliat period, whenever the lords and coin-
tnons should declare the safety of tlie kingdom to lie concerned, i;ll bills passed by them
respecting the forces by sea or land, should be deemed acts of parliament, even though the
king, for the time being, should refuse Ids assent. The second declared all oaths, pro-
clamations, mid proceedings against the parliament during the war, void, and of no ef-
fect. The third annulled all titles of honour granted sine* the SOlh of May, 1642, and
deprived all peere, to be created hereafter, of the right of sitting in p'lrliament, without
the consent of tlie two houses : and the foiirtli gave to the houses the power of adjourn-
ing from place to place at their discretion. Journals, vol. ix. p. 575. — Charles's Works
500— 583.— Liiigard, vol. vi. p. 595.

DEFEAT or INSUKGENTS AT MAUCHLIStE. 11

of three months labour, only bring about fifteen thousand men into the
field, and that not until several insurrections in England, in favour of the
king, liad been suppressed.

It was the misfortune of Hamilton that with every disposition to serve
the cause of his royal master, he had neitlicr the capacity to conceive,
nor tlie resolution to adopt bold and decisive measures equal to the
emergency of the times. Like the king, he too attempted to act the part
of the cunning politician, but he was wholly unfitted for the performance
of such a character. Had he had the address to separate old Leslie and
his nephew from the party of Argyle, by placing the direction of mili-
tary affairs in their hands, he might have succeeded in raising a sufficient
force to cope with the parliamentary army of England ; but he had the
weakness, after both these generals had joined the kirk in its remon-
strance to the parliament that nothing sliould be done without the consent
of the committee of the general assembly, to get himself appointed com-
mander-in-chief of the army, a measure which could not fail to disgust
these hardy veterans. To conciliate the marquis of Argyle and his
friends to the appointment, they were made colonels in the shires where
they lived for the purpose of raising the levies which had been voted.
Instead, however, of assisting, they, on their return home, did every
thing in their power to obstruct the levies. The marquis of Argyle,
after despatching Major Strachan on a private embassy to Cromwell to
send a party to Scotland to assist him in opposing the measures of the
duke, went from Edinburgh to Fife, where he induced the gentry not
only to oppose the levies, but to hold themselves in readiness to rise on
the other side when called upon. He was not so successful in Stirling-
shire, none of the gentlemen of that county concurring in his views ex-
cept the laird of Buchanan, Sir William Bruce of Stenhouse, and a few
persons of inferior note ; but in Dumbartonshire he succeeded to the
utmost of his wishes. After attending a meeting with the lord
chancellor, (Loudon,) the earls of Cassillis and Eglinton, and David
Dick and other ministers, at Eglinton's house, on the twenty-ninth of
ISIay, Argyle went home to his own country to raise his people against
his sovereign.

Several instances of opposition to the levy took place ; but the most
formidable one, and the only one worthy of notice, was in Ayrshire,
w here a body of armed insurgents, to the number of eight hundred horse
and twelve hundred foot according to one writer,* and five hundred
horse and two thousand foot according to another,! headed by several
ministers, assembled at JMauchline ; but they were defeated and dispersed
by Middleton, who had been appointed lieutenant-general of horse, on
the tenth of June, with the loss of eighty men.

There are no data by which to ascertain the number of men raised in
tlie Highland^ for Hamilton's army ; but it must necessarily have been

• Baillie. t Guihr>

12 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

very inconsiderable. Not a single man was of course raised in Arayle-
shire, and scarcely any in the adjoining part of Inverness-shire, to which
the influence or power of Argyle extended. The earl of Sutherland,
who had been appointed a colonel of foot in his own division, declined
tlie office, and Lord Reay was so disgusted with " Duke Hamilton's
failure," that he took shipping at Thurso in the month of July tliat year,
and went to Norway,* where he was appointed governor of Bergen,
and received the colonelcy of a regiment from the king of Denmark,
whom he had formerly served. The only individual who could have bene-
fitted the royal cause in the north was the marquis of Huntly, but by a
strange fatality the duke of Hamilton, who could have easily procured
an order from the parliament for his liberation from prison, allowed him
to continue in prison, and merely contented himself w ith obtaining a
warrant for changing the marquis's place of confinement from the jail to
the castle of Edinburgh.

In consequence of the many difficulties which occurred in collecting
his troops, and providing the necessary materiel for the use of the army,
the duke weis not able to begin his march till the eighth of July, on
which day he put his army in motion towards the borders. His force,
which amounted to about ten thousand foot and four thousand horse,
was composed of raw and undisciplined levies, and he had not a single
field-piece. He entered England by the western border, where he was
met by Sir Marmaduke Langdale and a body of four thousand brave
cavaliers, all devotedly attached to the king. At this time Lambert, the
parliamentary general, had invested Carlisle, and Hamilton was induced
by the English royalists, contrary to his own views, to march upon Car-
lisle, and force Lambert to raise the siege. Tliat general, who had re-
ceived orders from Cromwell not to engage the Scots till he should join
him, accordingly retired, and Carlisle was delivered up next day to
Hamilton by the English royalists, who also put him in possession of
Berwick.

With the forces now at his command, which were still farther
augmented by the addition of a body of three thousand veterans,
drawn from the Scottish army in Ireland, which joined him at Kendal
under the command of Major-General Sir George Munro, the duke
raiglit have effected the restoration of the king had a combined plan
of operations been agreed upon between him and his English allies;
" but Hamilton, though possessed of personal courage, was diffident of
his own powers, and resigned himself to the guidance of men who sacri-
ficed the interests of the service to their private jealousies and feuds."f
So controlled was the duke by these men, that he was not allowed to
benefit by the advice of his English auxiliaries, and when they advised
him to march througli Yorkshire, the inhabitants of which were well
affected to the king, the duke, to gratify the presbyterians, rejected tlieit

• Vjorduii's I'oiilinuiilion, 11. 511. f Liiigaid, vol. \i. )). COC.

DEFEAT OF THE ROYALISTS AT PRESTON. 13

advice, and resolved to march tlirougli Lancashire, because the people
there were generally attached to Presbyterianism. To please them still
farther he would not allow the English royalists to unite with the Scots
army, for fear of infringing an absurd law, which required that the allies
of the Scots should take the covenant before being permitted to mix
with them. The consequence was, that the two sections of the royalist
army were kept so distinct and isolated, and at such an interval of space,
that it became utterly impossible for them to co-operate or to act simul-
taneously. But, bad as the order of march was by which Langdale's
forces were kept at an advance of twenty, and even sometimes of thirty
miles a-head of the Scots army, it was rendered still worse by a differ-
ence between Mnnro and Callander, in consequence of which Munro
was ordered to remain behind in Westmoreland to bring forward, ac-
cording to Bishop Guthry, five pieces of cannon which were expected
from Scotland.

The advance of Hamilton's army had been greatly checked by Lambert,
who kept constantly skirmishing with the advanced guard of the Scots army
with a large body of horse, and so slow were his motions, that forty days
were spent in a march of eighty miles. The tardiness of the duke's
motions enabled Cromwell, after reducing Pembroke, to effect a junction
with Lambert in Yorkshire before the Scottish army had reached Pres-
ton, and although their united forces did not exceed nine thousand men,
Cromwell, with characteristic promptitude, did not hesitate to attack
the enemy. Cromwell being observed to march upon Clithero, where
Langdale and his cavaliers were stationed, that officer fell back on the
Scottish army near Preston, and sent notice to the duke to prepare for
battle on the following day. The duke, however, disregarded the ad-
monition. On the following morning, being the seventeenth of August,
Cromwell attacked Langdale, and, although the forces of the former
were almost twice as numerous as those of the latter, the royalists fought
upwards of six hours with the most determined bravery, and it was not
until their whole anununition was spent, and tlie duke had, notwith-
standing the most urgent solicitations from Langdale, declined to sup-
port them, that they were obliged to retreat into Preston. Here they
were mortified to find that their allies had abandoned the town, and that
the enemy were in possession of the bridge across the river. Langdale
having now no alternative but flight, disbanded his infantry, and along
with his cavalry and the duke, who, refusing to follow the example of
his army, had remained in the town, swam across the Ribble.

The Scots army retired during the night towards Wigan, where it
was joined by the duke next morning, but so reduced in spirits and
weakened by desertion as to be quite unable to make any resistance to
the victorious troops of Cromwell, who pressed hard upon them. The
foot, under the command of Baillie, continued to retreat during the day,
hut were overtaken at Warrington, and, being unable either to proceed
or to resist, surrendered. The number which capitulated amounted to

I* HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

about three thousand. Upwards of six thousand had previously been
captured by the country people, and the few who had the good fortune
to escape joined Munro and returned to Scotland. Tliese prisoners
were sold as slaves, and sent to the plantations, — a striking instance of
the horrors of civil war.

The duke, abandoning Baillie to his fate, carried off the whole cavalry;
but he had not proceeded far wlien his rear was attacked by the parlia-
mentary army. Middleton made a gallant defence, and was taken pri-
soner; but the duke escaped, and fled to Uttoxe ter, followed by Iiis horse,
where he surrendered himself to general Lambert and the lord Grey of
Groby, who sent him prisoner to Windsor. The earl of Callander,
having effected his escape, went over to Holland, disgusted at the con-
duct of the duke.

As soon as the news of the defeat of Hamilton reached Scotland, the
covenanters of the west began to bestir themselves, and a party of them,
under the connnand of Robert Montgomery, son of the earl of Eglinton,
attacked a troop of Lanark's horse, quartered in Ayrsliire, killed some
and routed the rest. The committee of estates, apprehensive that the spirit
of insurrection would speedily spread, immediately ordered out all the fen-
cible men in the kingdom to put down the rising in the west. A difference,
however, arose in the committee in the choice of a commander. The
earl of Lanark and the earl marischal were proposed by their respective
friends. His chief op|»nent was the earl of Roxburghe, who, (says
Wishart,) " in a grave and modest speech, earnestly entreated him, for
the sake of their dear sovereign and their distressed country, not to in-
sist in demanding that dignity, which was extremely unseasonable and
ill-judged at that time. He told him, that, even before the late defeat,
many were much offended at the expedition into England, and reckoned
that it presaged no good, chiefly because his brother the duke was ap-
pointed general ; whose fidelity in the management of the king's affairs
not a few suspected, though he believed without any good ground ,
however, it could not be denied tliat he had always been unfortunate ;
aud people's judgments, with respect to the conduct or misconduct of
generals, are known to depend in a great measure, though indeed
wrongously, upon their success. Though, for his own part, he said, he
was ready to ascribe the loss of that gallant army under his brother,
which was attended with such a disgrace to the nation, to the cowardice
of others, or to inevitable misfortunes ; yet it was sufficiently known,
that most of the populace, whose good affections ought by all means to
be obtained in this critical juncture, spoke and thought very differently
concerning that affair from what it was proper for him to do. And if
the earl of Lanark should succeed his brother the duke in tliat station,
as they were already highly inflamed and exasperated, they would im-
mediately exclaim, that the king and country were now utterly undone ;
that both the brothers were of the same mind ; that they were swayed by
the samo motives ; that they pursued the same courses ; and all theii

WESTERN ISSUBGENTS ENTER EDINBURGH. lO

enterprises would undoubtedly ti^iiiinate in the same unlucky manner,
that we wanted not many other persons of quality, wise and brave men,
and proper for action, whose ancestors have had the command of the
kins^'s armies, and in that post acquired no small honour and renown.
It was, therefore, his opinion, that some of these should be invited, even
against their own inclinations, to take upon them the command of the
army ; and, if it pleased the honourable meeting, he thought the first
offer ought to be made to the earl marischal, whose family may be ranked
among the first of Scotland, as having often distinguished itself by its
loyalty and braverj' ; one who has a plentiful estate, in the flower of his
age, not in the least suspected of faction and disloyalty ; and, which is
of itself no small recommendation in the present case, one who is not
courting this preferment."* This significant speech had no effect upon
Lanark, who, on a vote being taken, was found to have the majority,
and so anxious was he to obtain the command of the army that he ac-
tually voted for himself. f He had even the indiscretion to declare, that
he would not permit anj other person to command in his brother's ab-
sence. This rash and imprudent behaviour on the part of Lanark so
exasperated Roxburghe and his friends, who justly dreaded the utter
ruin of the king's affairs, that they henceforth withdrew altogether from
public affairs.

As soon as Lanark had been appointed to the command of the new
levy, he set about raising it with great expedition. For this purpose he
sent circulars, plausibly %vritten, to every part of Scotland, calling upon
all classes to join him without delay. These circulars had the desired
effect. The people beyond the Fortli, and even the men of Fife, showed
a disposition to obey the call. The eail of Seaforth raised four thousand
men in the western islands and in Ross-shire, which he brought south,
and the earl of Morton also brought into Lothian twelve hundred men
from the Orkneys. In short, with the exception of Argyle, there were
lew places in Scotland from which considerable bodies of men might
not have been expected.

Before the defeat of Hamilton's array, Lanark had raised three regi-
ments of horse, which were now under his command. These, with the
accessions of force which were daily arriving from different parts of the
kingdom, were quite sufficient to have put down the insurrection in the
west ; but instead of marching thither, Lanark, to the surprise of every
person, proceeded through East Lothian towards the eastern borders to
meet Sir George Munro, who was retiring upon Berwick before the
army of Cromwell. The people of the west being thus relieved from
the apprehensions of a visit, assembled in great numbers, and taking
advantage of Lanark's absence, a body of them, to the number of no
less tlian six thousand men, headed by the chancellor, the earl of Eglin-

• Memoirs, p. 311, el seq. f Guthiy, p. ,327

16 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS

Ion, and some ministers, advanced upon the capital, which they entered
without opposition, the magistrates and ministers of the city wel-
coming their approach by going out to meet them. Bishop Wishart
describes this body as " a confused rabble, composed of farmers, cow-
herds, shepherds, coblers, and such lilce mob, without arms, and without
courage," and says, that when they arrived in Edinburgli, " tliey were pro-
vided witli arms, whicli, as tliey were unaccustomed to, were rather a
burden and incumbrance tlian of any use," — tliat " they were mounted
upon horses, or jades rather, wliicli had been long used to the drudgery ot
labour, equipped with pack saddles and halters, in place of saddles and
bridles."* Tliis tumultuary body, however, was soon put into proper
order by the earl of Leven, who was invested with the chief command,
and by David Leslie, as his lieutenant-general, and presented a rather
formidable appearance, for on Lanarlc's return from the south, he
did not venture to engage it, though his force amounted to four or five
thousand horse and as many foot, many of whom were veterans who
had served in Ireland under Munro.

In thus declining, however, to attack Leslie, Lanark acted contrary to
the advice of Munro and his other officers. According to Dr Wisliart,
Lanark's advanced guard, on arriving at Musselburgh, fell in with some
of Leslie's outposts, who defended the bridge over the Esk, and
Lanark's advanced guard, thougli inferior in number, immediately put
them in great disorder, and killed some of them without sustaining any
loss. This success was reported to Lanark, and it was represented to
him, that by following it up immediately, while the enemy continued m
the state of alarm into whicli this affair of outposts had thrown them, he
might, perhaps, obtain a bloodless victory, and secure possession of the
city of Edinburgh and the town of Leith, with all the warlike stores,
before sunset. " And, indeed, (says Wishart) nobody doubted, that,
had he complied with this advice, Scotland might have been totally re-
covered and reduced to the king's obedience. But in place of that, lie
refused to fight, and inmiediately ordered his troops, who had been
hitherto victorious, to be called back, and, leaving the highway which
leads to Edinburgh, marched off to the left. Both officers and soldieI■^,
surprised at this unexpected course, began first to murmur, and soon
after to exclaim aloud against him for losing this opportunity which, had
it been embraced, might very soon have put a period to the war in Scot-
Ian d."f

Leading his army along the base of the Pentland hills, Lanark pro-
ceeded to Linlithgow, which he entered on the evening of the eleventh
of September, where he almost surprised the earl of Cassillis, who, at
the head of eight hundred horse from Carrick and Galloway, Jiad taken
up his quarters there for the night ; but a notice having been sent to him of

• JVIeniuirs, p S16. t lb. p. 317.

CAI'TURE GF STIRLING AND FLIGHT OP ARGYLE. 17

the earl of Lanark's approach by some friend, he fli^d precip'.tately to
tlie Queensferry, leaving the supper whicli was cooking for him and liis
men on the fire, wliich repast was greedily devoured by Lanark's troops

Ever since Lanark's march to the borders to meet Munro, the mar-
quis of Argyle had been busily employed in raising men in his own
territory to assist the insurgents, but it had been so much depopulated
by the ravages of Montrose and Macdonald, that ho could scarcely
muster three hundred men. With these and four hundred more which
he had collected in the Lennox and in the western part of Stirling-
shire, he advanced to Stirling, which he entered upon the twelfth of
September at eleven o'clock forenoon. After assigning to the troops
their different posts in the town, and making arrangements with the
magistrates for their support, Argyle went to dine with the earl of Mar
at his residence in the town. But while the dinner was serving up, Ar-
gyle, to his infinite alarm, heard that a part of Lanark's forces had entered
the town. This was the advanced guard, commanded by Sir George
Munro, who, on hearing that Argyle was in possession of the town when
only within two miles of it, had, unknown to Lanark, who was behind
with the main body of the army, pushed forward and entered the town
before Argyle's men were aware of his approach. Argyle, as usual,
looked only to his own personal safety, and, therefore, immediately
mounting his horse, galloped across Stirling bridge, and never looked
behind till he reached the North Queensferry, where he instantly crossed
the Frith in a small boat and proceeded to Edinburgh. Nearly two
hundred of Argyle's men were either killed or drowned, and the re-
mainder were taken prisoners.

The levies under the earl of Leven having been reinforced by some
additional men from Fife and the southern shires, that general left
Edinburgh in pursuit of Lanark, and arrived at Falkirk on the night
of the twelfth of September. On intelligence being brought of Leslie's
arrival, Munro proposed to Lanark and his friends, the earls of Lindsay
and Glencairn, to attack Leslie next morning ; but Munro's proposition
was overruled, and instead of thanking him for the promptitude which
he had displayed in capturing Stirling, they expressed disapprobation of
his conduct, and Lindsay not being able to conceal the sorrow he felt
at the occurrence, exclaimed, " Woes me ! tliat I should ever have seen
tills u .lucky and mischievous day I" The fact appears to be, that this
triumvirate, who concealed all their plans from the open and unsuspect-
ing soldier, had already thought of a treaty with the enemy, and they
were afraid lest the unlucky occurrence of the day might so exasperate the
parties " as to cut off all hope or inclination for the peace which they
had projected."* Although Lanark and his committee had negatived
Munro's proposal, yet being suspicious that he might himself attack
Leslie, they sent all the horse across Stirling bridge, with instructions to

— ^

18 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS. |

(quarter them along the north shore of the Frith of Forth, as far
down as Burntisland. A negotiation for peace immediately ensued be-
tween the two parties, and on the fifteenth of September a treaty was
entered into by which tlie Hamilton party agreed to refer all civil mat-
ters in dispute to a Parliament, to be held before the tenth of January,
and all ecclesiastical ati'airs to an assembly of the kirk. It was also sti-
pulated that both armies should be disbanded before the twenty-ninth of
September, or at farthest on the fifth of October, tliat the adherents of
the king should not be disturbed, and that all the prisoners taken in
Scotland should be released. Munro perceiving that the king's affairs
would be irretrievably ruined by this compromise, objected to the treaty,
and would have stood out had he been backed by the other officers ;
but very few seconding his views, lie addressed the troops, wlio had
accompanied him from Ireland, in St Ninian's church, and oH'ered to
lead back such as were inclined to Ireland, to serve under their old
commander major-general Robert Munro ; but having received intelli-
gence at Glasgow that that general had been taken prisoner and sent to
London, he disbanded the troops who had followed him thither, ami re-
tired to Holland.

According to the treaty the two armies were disbanded on the ap-
pointed day, and the " Whigamores," as the insurgents from the west
were called, returned immediately home to cut down their corn which
was ready for the sickle. Argyle's men, who had been taken prisonei-s
at Stirling, were set at liberty, and conducted home to their own coun-
try by one of Argyle's officers.

The marquis of Argyle, Loudon the chancellor, and the earls of
Cassillis and Eglinton, and others, now met at Edinburgh, and formed
themselves into a body under the title of tlie Committee of Estates, and
having arranged matters for the better securing tlieir own influence,
they summoned a parliament to meet on the fourth of January. In the
meantime, Oliver Cromwell, who, after the pursuit of Munro, had laid
siege to Berwick, was waited upon by Argyle, Lord Elcho, and Sir
Charles Erskine, to compliment him upon his success at Preston, and
after making Ludovick Leslie deliver up Berwick to him, they invited
him and Lambert to Edinburgh. Cromwell took up his residence in
the house of Lady Home in the Canongate, where he received frequent
visits from Argyle, Loudon, the earl of Lothian, the lords Arbuthnot,
Elcho, and Burleigh, and the most noted of the ministers. It is said,
that during tliese conferences, Cromwell communicated to his visitors
his intentions with respect to the king, and obtained their consent *

About this time a violent struggle took place in the English parlia-
ment between the presbyterians and independents about the late seizure
of the king by the army. A treaty had been entered into between the
king and tift<jeu commissioners from the parliament at Newport, iu the

THE ENGLISH ARMY SEIZE THE KINO. 19

month of September contrary to the wishes of the independents, whose de-
signs upon the Ufo of the king they were apprclicnsive it would frustrate.
Colonel Ludlow, a fanatical member of tlie lower house, thinking that the
death of Charles was absolutely necessary to appease the anger of God,
first attempted to draw over Fairfax to his opinion, but having failed, he
tampered with Ireton, another commander in the parliamentary army,
and having succeeded, Ireton made his regiment petition the com-
mander-in-chief, that all who were concerned in the late rebellion,
whether high or low, without any distinction, should be punished ac-
cording to their just deserts, "and that whosoever should speak or act
in favour of the king before he had been acquitted of shedding innocent
blood, should incur the penalties of treason."* This petition, which was
put forth as a mere feeler to sound the dispositions of the army, was quickly
followed by a petition from another regiment couched in stronger and more
intelligible language, and which demanded that the king and his advisers
should be brought to justice ; and condemned the treaty entered into with
him as dangerous and unjust. These petitions were laid before a council of
war, and the result was, that the olficers assembled issued a remonstrance
addressed to the House of Commons, requiring, inter alia, that " the
capital and grand author of all the troubles and woes which the king-
dom had endured, should be speedily brought to justice for the treason,
blood, and mischief of which he had been guilty." The remonstrance
was supported by the independents, but the presbyterians prevailed by
a large majority in postponing consideration of the remonstrance till a
distant day, and instructed the commissioners at Newport to bring the
treaty with the king to a speedy conclusion. f

Thus disappointed in their views for the time, the independents pre-
vailed upon Fairfax to order Hammond, the governor of the Isle of
Wight, to attend him at Windsor, and to send Colonel Eure with orders
to seize the king at Newport, where he was conferring with the com-
missioners, and imprison him again in Carisbrook castle ; but Hammond
having declined to allow Eure to interfere without an order from the
parliament, Eure left the island without attempting to fulfil his instruc-
tions. Hammond, however, afterwards left the island with the commis-
sioners, and committed the royal person to the custody of one Major
Rolfe, a person who, only six inontlis before, had been charged with a
design on the life of the king, and who had escaped trial because only
one witness had attested the fact before the grand jury.

The king seemed to be fully aware of the danger of his present situa-
tion, and on the morning of tlie twenty-eighth of November, when the
commissioners left the island, he gave vent to his feelings in a strain of
the most pathetic emotion, which drew tears from his attendants : " M;v
lords," said he to the commissioners, " I believe we shall scarce ever see

• Lingard, vol. v!. p. 614.
t Journals of Commons, Nov. 2(), '^1, 3U.

20 HISTORY OF THE HIGHL\NDS.

each other again, but God's will be done ! I have made my peace with
hira, and shall undergo without fear whatever he may suffer men to do
to nie. My lords, you cannot but know, that in my fall and ruin you
see your own, and that also near you. I pray (iod send you better
friends than I have found. I am fully informed of the carriage of those
who plot against me and mine ; but nothing affects me so much as the
feeling I have of the sufferings of my subjects, and the mischief that
liangs over my three kingdoms, drawn upon them by those who, upon
pretences of good, violently pursue their own interests and ends."* As
soon as the commissioners and Hammond had quitted the island, Fair-
fax sent a troop of horse and a company of foot, under the command
of Lieutenant-Colonel Cobbett, to seize the king, who received no-
tice of the approach of tliis body and of its object next morning
from a person in disguise ; but although advised by the duke of Ricli-
mond, the earl of Lindsay, and Colonel Coke to make his escape, which
he could easily have accomplished, he declined to do so, because he con-
sidered himself bound in honour to remain twenty days after the treaty.
The consequence was, that Charles was taken prisoner by Cobbett, and
carried to Hurst castle

The army having now got tiie king completely in their power, the
council of officers issued a threatening declaration against the house of
commons, and to support their pretensions to provide for the settlement
of the kingdom and to punish the guilty, Fairfax quartered several re-
giments in London and the neighbourhood. This bold niea-ure imme-
diately brought the army and the presbyterian members of the house o(
commons, who were still the majority, into collision. Instead of being
overawed by the army, as they had been in the year sixteen hundred
and forty-six, the presbyterians protested against the seizure of the
royal person, and carried bv a large majority, after an animated debate
which lasted, by adjournment, three days and a whole night, a re-
solution approving of the treaty of Newport. The firmness thus dis-
played by the presbyterian party was not to be endured by the army,
which had now every thing in its power, and, accordingly, a resolution
was taken by tiie officers to arrest the leading members, which was im-
mediately carried into effect by the celebrated Colonel Pride. Many
members of the presbj'terian party seeing their friends thus illegally
placed in confinement, retired into the country, and a " rump" only of
about fifty members remained.

The person who was to act the principal part in the bloody tragedy
which soon followed, was on his way home from Scotland during these
proceedings, and arrived in London the day after the house of com-
mons had been finally purged by Pride. Cromwell had now obtained
the complete ascendancy in tlie army, and he perceived that the time
had arrived for carrying his design upon the life of the king into execu-

* Appendix to livelyu'a Memoirs, ii. I2S, 300. Olarondoii, iii. Sik.

EXECUTION OF THE KING AND OF HAMILTON AND HUNTLY 21

tiun. Accordingly, after the purified lioiise of commons had passed a
vote declaring that it was high treason in the iiing of England, for the time
being, to levy war against the parliament and kingdom of England, his
majesty was brought to trial before a tribunal erected pro re nala by
the house called the high court of justice, which adjudged him " as a
tyrant, traitor, murderer, and public enemy to the good people of the
nation, to be put to death by the severing of his head from his body,"
a sentence which was carried into execution, in front of Whitehall, on
the thirtieth of Januarj' sixteen hundred and forty-nine. The unfortu-
nate monarch conducted himself throughout the whole of these melan-
choly proceedings with becoming dignity, and braved the terrors of
death with the utmost fortitude and resignation.*

The duke of Hamilton, who, by his incapacity, had ruined the king's
affairs when on the point of being retrieved, was not destined long to sur-
vive his royal master. In violation of the articles of his capitulation, he
was brought to trial, and although he pleaded that he acted under the
orders of the Scottish parliament, and was not amenable to an English
tribunal, be was, under the pretence that he was earl of Cambridge in
England, sentenced to be beheaded. He suffered on the ninth of
March.

The marquis of Huntly had languished in prison since December
sixteen hundred and forty-seven, and during the life of the king the
Scottish parliament had not ventured to bring him to the block ; but
both the king and Hamilton, his favourite, being now put out of the
way, they felt themselves no longer under restraint, and accordingly
the parliament, on the sixteenth of March, ordained the marquis
to be beheaded, at the mai'ket-cross of Edinburgh, on the twenty-
second day of that month. As he lay under sentence of ecclesias-
tical excommunication, one of the " bloody ministers," says the au-
thor of the History of the family of Gordon, " asked him, when brought
upon the scaffold, if he desired to be absolved from the sentence ;" to
which the marquis replied, " that as he was not accustomed to give ear
to false prophets, he did not wish to be troubled by him." And there-

• The following stanza was written by Montrose at Brussels on hearing of the death
of the king: —

Great, good, and just I could I but rate

My griefs to thy too rigid fate,

I'd weep the world to such a strain.

As it would deluge once again :
But since thy loud-tongued blood demands supplies,
More from Briareus' hands than Argus' eyes,
I'll sing thy obsequies with trumpet sounds,
And write thy epitaph with blood and wounds.

The^e verses appear set to music among ** Songs for one, two, and three voices, with
Bome short symphonies, collected out of the select poems of the incomparable Mr Cow-
lev, and others, and composed by Henry Bowman, Philo-Musici;s." 2d edit, rrinieri al
Oxford, 1679. —Appendix to Whhart'a Memoirs, p. 495.

22

HISTORY Of THE Hlfilll.ANDS.

upon turning " towards the people, he told them that he was going to die
for having employed some years of his life in the service of the king
his master ; that he was sorry he was not the first of his majesty's sub-
jects who had suffered for his cause, so glorious in itself that it sweeten-
ed to him all the bitterness of death." He then declared that he had
charity to forgive tliose who had voted for his death, although he could
not admit that he had done any thing contrary to the laws. After
throwing off his doublet, lie offered up a prayer, and then embracing
some friends around him, he submitted his neck, without any syniiitonis
of emotion, to the fatal instrument.

CA«TT,K Fiyi.AOCAX, ISI.AV.

CHAPTER 11.

Charles II. pmelaimed king— Conduct of Argyle— Conditions offered to the king at the
Hague— Rejection of these, and return of tlie Commissioners— Proceedings of Mon-
trose— Descent upon Scotland resolved upon — Rising in the north under Pluscardin
—Inverness taken— March of David Leslie to the north— Submission of Sir Thomas
Urquhart and others — Return of Leslie to the south— Pluscardin joined by Lord Reay
—Marches into Badennch, where he is joined by Huntly— Pluscardin's men surprised
and defeated at Balveny— Landing of the earl of Kinnoul in Orkney— The caslle of
Birsay taken — Declaration of Montrose, and the Answers thereto — Arrival of Mon-
trose in Orkney — Crosses tlie I'entland FriUi, and lands in Caithness — Surrender of
Uunbeath castle — Advance of Montrose into Sutherland — Defealed at Carbisdale —
Cajiture of Montrose by Macleod of Assynt — Sent to Edinburgh — Generous conduct
of the people of Dundee — Reception of Montrose in Edinburgh — Behaviour and
execution.

While the tlominant party in England were contemplating the erec-
tion of a commonwealth upon the ruins of tlie monarchy they had just
overthrown, the faction in Scotland, with Argyle at its head, which had
usurped the reins of government in that country, in obedience to the
known wish of the nation, resolved to recognize the principle of legi-
timacy by acknowledging the prince of Wales as successor to the crown
of Scotland. No sooner, therefore, had the intelligence of the execu-
tion of the king reached Edinburgh, than the usual preparations were
made for proclaiming Charles the Second, a ceremony which was per-
formed at the market-cross of Edinburgh, on the fifth day of February,
with the usual formalities.

This proceeding was contrary to the policy of Argyle, whose inten-
tions were in exact accordance with those of the English Independents ;
but, as the melancholy fate of the king had excited a feeling of indig-
nation in the Scottish nation, he was afraid to imitate the example of his
English friends, and with his usual subtlety and flexibility, dissembled
his views, and adopted other measures without changing his object. As
he could not venture in the present disposition of the nation upon the
bold step of excluding the son of the king from the crown, he fell upon
the device of embroiling them on the suljject of religion, than which
the perverted ingenuity of man could not have invented one more likely
to become a source of discord, and to estrange a nation, wrought up, at
that time, to the highest pitch of religious enthusiasm, from the sove-
reign. With this view, Argyle, under the specious pretext of securing

24 niSTORT OF THE HIGHLANDS.

the religious, and along therewith the civil liberties of the people, but
in reality to secure his own power, prevailed upon his creatures in par-
liament to propose certain conditions to the prince as the terms on which
alone he should be entitled to sway the sceptre of his father. These
were, in substance, Jirst, that he should sign tlie covenants, and endea-
vour to establish them by his authority in all his dominions ; secondly,
that he should ratify and confirm all the acts of the estates, approving
of the two covenants, the directory, confession of faith, and the cate-
chism, that he should renounce episcopacy and adopt the presbyterian
form of worship ; thinUij, that in all civil matters he should submit to
the parliament, and in things ecclesiastical to the authority of the
general assembly ; and, lastly, that he should remove from his person
and court the marquis of Montrose, " a person excommunicated by the
church, and forfaulted by the parliament of Scotland, being a man
most justly, if ever any, cast out of the church of God."

These conditions, so flattering to popular prejudice and the prevailing
ideas of the times, were proposed only because Argyle thought they
would be rejected by the j'outhful monarch, surrounded as he then was
by counsellors to whom these tenns would be particularly obnoxious.
To carry these propositions to Charles II. then at the Hague, seven
commissioners from the parliament and kirk were appointed, who set
sail from Kirkaldy roads on the seventeenth of March.* These com-
missioners arrived at the Hague on the twenty-sixth. His court,
which at first consisted of the few persons whom his father had
placed about him, had been lately increased by the arrival of the earl
of Lanark, now become, by the death of his brother, duke of Hamil-
ton, the earls of Lauderdale and Callander, the heads of the Engagers ;
and by the subsequent addition of Montrose, Kinnoul, and Seaforth.
The following graphic sketch is given by Dr Wishart of the appearance
and reception of the commissioners : — " When these commissioners, or
deputies from the estates were admitted to their first audience of the
king, their solemn gait, their grave dress, and dejected countenances,
had all the appearance imaginable of humility ; and many who were not
acquainted with the temper and practices of the men, from thence
concluded that they were about to implore of his majesty a general ob-
livion and pardon for what was past, and to promise a perfect obedience
and submission in time coming ; and tliat tliey were ready to yield every
thing that was just and reasonable, and would be sincere in all their
proposals of peace and accommodation. They acted in a double capa-
city, and had instructions both from the estates and from the commis-
sion of the kirk, in both of which the earl of Cassillis was the chief per-
son, not only in what they were charged with from the estates, as being
a nobleman, but also from the commission of the kirk, of which he was
a ruling elder. Their address to the king was introduced with abun-

• u.iir..ur. vol. iii. p. 39a

PREPARATIONS OP MONTROSE. 2o

dance of deep sighs and heavy groans, as if tliey liad been labouring,
as Virgil says of tlie Sybil, to shake tlie ponderous load from off their
breasts, after which they at last exliibited tlicir papers, containing the
ordinances of the estates, and acts of tlie commission of the kirk, and
pretended that tlie terms demanded in them were moderate, just, and
reasonable, and absolutely necessary for settling the present confusions,
and restoring the king ; with which, if he complied, he would be im-
mediately settled upon his father's throne by the unanimous consent of
the people."*

The king endeavoured to induce the commissioners to modify the
eonditions to which his acceptance was required, and to declare publicly
their opinions of the murder of his father, to which thoy had made no
allusion ; but they replied that they could not alter these conditions
without new instructions to that efic-et from the parliament, " that their
demands were not only just and honourable, but absolutely necessary,
as being founded upon the Holy Scriptures, and of divine institution."f
As they could not approve of the death of the king in presence of his
son, and as a contrary declaration would have exasperated Cromwell
and liis party, they cautiously evaded that topic altogether. The
councillors of the young king were divided in opinion as to the course
he should pursue. The engagement party advised his majesty to ac-
cept the proposed conditions, but Montrose and his friends thought
otherwise, and counselled him to vindicate his rights by an appeal to
arms, as the demands of the commissionors, in their judgment, were
contrary to conscience and honour. The latter advice being congenial
to the dispositions of the king, was adopted by him, and the commission-
ers, therefore, received a final answer from the king, on the nineteenth
of May, declining to agree to the terms proposed, and stating, that as he
had been already proclaimed king of Scotland by the committee of
estates, it was their duty to obey him, and that he should expect the
committee of estates, the assembly of the kirk, and the nation at large,
to perform their duty to him, humbly obeying, maintaining, and defend-
ing him as their lawful sovereign.^ The commissioners thereupon re-
turned to Scotland^ and Charles went to St Germain in France, to visit
Queen Henrietta Maria, his mother, before going to Ireland, whither
he had been invited by the marquis of Ormond to join the royalist
army.

During the captivity of Charles I., Montrose used every exertion at
the court of France to raise money and men to enable him to make a
descent upon tlie coast of England or Scotland, to rescue his sovereign
from coniinement ; but his endeavours proving ineffectual, he entered
into the service of the emperor of Germany, who honoured him with
especial marks of his esteem. He had been lately residing at Brussels

• Memoirs, p. 351. t \Vi>liai-t.

X Uulftxir, vol. iii. p. 405.

2G HISTORY OF rilE HIGHLANDS.

engaged in the affairs of tlie emperor, where he received letters from
the Prince of Wales, tlien at the Hague, requiring his attendance to con-
sult on tlie state of his father's affairs ; but before he set out for tlie Hague,
he received the news of the death of Cliarlos I. He was so over-
whelmed with grief at this intelligence, that according to Bishop Wish-
art, wlio was an eye-witness, he fainted and fell down in the midst o(
his attendants, and appeared for some time as if quite dead. When he
had sufficiently recovered to give full vent to his feelings, he expressed a
desire to die with his sovereign, as he could no longer enjoy, as he said,
a life which had now become a grievous and heavy burden ; but on
Wisliart remonstrating with him upon the impropriety of entertaining
Buch a sentiment, and informing him that he should be rather more de-
sirous of life that he miglit avenge the death of his roj'al master, and
place his son and lawful successor upon the throne of his ancestors ;
Montrose replied with composure, that in that view he should be satis-
fied to live ; " but (continued lie) I swear before God, angels, and
men, that I will dedicate the remainder of my life to the avenging tlie
death of the royal martyr, and re-establishing his son upon his lather's
throne." To indulge his grief, Montrose shut himself up in a very re-
tired apartment, in which he continued two days, without seeing or
spealiing to any person, during which time he composed the stanzas
which have been before inserted.

On arriving at the Hague, Montrose was received by Charles H.
with marked distinction. After some consultation, a descent upon
Scotland was resolved upon, and Montrose, thereupon, received a com-
mission, appointing him lieutenant-governor of Scotland, and com-
mander-in-chief of all the forces there both by sea and land. Tlie
king also appointed liinr his ambassador to the emperor, the princes of
Germany, the king of Denmark, and other friendly sovereigns, to so-
licit supplies of money, and warlike stores, to enable him to com-
mence the war ; and gave him full authority to enter into treaties to
secure his object. Thus, before the commissioners had arrived, tiie
king had made up his mind as to the course he should pursue, and being
backed by the opinion of a man of such an ardent temperament as
Montrose, the result of the communing between the king and the com-
missioners was as might have been expected.

Connected probably with Montrose's plan of a descent, a rising took
place in the north under Thomas Mackenzie of Pluscardin, brotlier oftlic
earl of Seaforth, Sir Thomas Urquhart of Cromarty, Colonel John Munro
of Lumlair, and Colonel Hugh Fraser, who, at the head of a numlier of
their f.ieiius and followers, entered the town of Inverness, on the
twenty-second day of February, expelled the troops from the garrison,
and demolished and razed the walls and fortifications of the town.
The pretence set up by Mackenzie and his friends was, tliat the parlia-
ment had sent private commissioners to apprehend tliom, but the facl
appears to be, that this insurrection had taken place at the instigation

SUPPRESSION OP PI.USCARDISS I NSURKECTIOS. 2,

of tbe king, bctu-een wliom and Pluscardin a correspondence had been
previously openeil.* General David Leslie was sent to the north with
a force to supjiress the insurgents, who, on his approaeh, Hed to the
mountains of lloss ; but he was soon obliged to retrace his steps, in con-
sequence of a rising in Athole under the direction of Lord Ogilvy, General
Middleton, and others, in favour of tlie king. Leslie had previously made
terms with Urquhart, Munro, and Fraser, but as INIackcnzic would not
listen to any accommodation, he left behind him a garrison in the cas-
tle of Chanory, and also three troops of horse in Moray under the charge
of Colonel Gilbert Ker, and Lieutenant-Colonels Hacket and Straelian,
to wa'ch Pluscardin's motions. But this force was quite insufficient to
resist Pluscardin, who, on the departure of Leslie, descended from the
mountains and attacked the castle of Chanory, which he re-took. He
was thereupon joined by his nephew', Lord Reay, at the head of three
hundred well armed able-bodied men, which increased his force to be-
tween eight and nine hundred.

Having suppressed the rising in Athole, Leslie was again sent north
by the parliament, accompanied by the earl of Sutherland ; but he had
not proceeded far, when he ascertained that Mackenzie had been in-
duced by Lord Ogilvy and General Middleton, wlio had lately joined
him, to advance southward into Badcnoch, with the view of raising the
people in that and the neighbouring districts, and that they bad been
there joined by the young marquis of Huntly, formerly Lord Lewis
Gordon, and had taken the castle of Ruthven. Leslie therefore divided
his armj', with one part of whicli he himself entered Badenoch, while
he despatched the earl of Sutherland to the north to collect forces in
Ross, Sutherland, and Caithness, with another part, consisting of five
troops of horse, under the command of Ker, Hacket, and Strachau, to
prevent the royalists from again taking shelter in Ross. To hinder them
also from retiring into Athole, Leslie marched southward towards Glenesk,
by whicli movement ho compelled them to leave Badenoch and to march
down Spey side towards Balveny. On arriving at Balveny, they re-
solved to enter into a negotiation with Leslie, and accordingly Pluscardin
and Middleton left Balveny with a troop of horse to meet Leslie, leaving
Huntly, Reay and Ogilvy, in charge of the forces, the former of when"
sent his brother Loi-d Charles Gordon to the Enzie, to raise some horse.

Wliile waiting for the return of Pluscardin and Middleton, the party
at Balveny had not the most distant idea of being taken by surprise ;
but on the eighth of I\Lay at break of day, they were most unexpectedly
attacked by the horse which had been sent north with the earl of Suther-
land, and which, returning from Ross, had speedily crossed the Spey, and
seizing the roj-alist sentinels, surprised Lord Reay at the castle of
Balvenj', where he and about nine hundred foot were taken prisoners
and about eighty killed. Huntly and Ogilvy, who had their quai'ters at

■ ''.e Apiieiidix to Wishart's JlemoMS, p. U!l.

28 HISTORY OE' THE HIGHLANDS.

ihe church of Mortlach, about a mile from Balveny casHe, escaped.
Colonel Ker at once dismissed all the prisoners to their own homes on
giving their oaths not to take up arms against the parliament in time
coming. He sent Lord Reay along with some of his kinsmen and friends
and Mackenzie of Redcastle and other prisoners of his surname to Edin-
burgh ; all of whom were imprisoned in the jail of Edinburgh. Huntly,
Ogilvy, Pluscardin and Middleton, on giving security to keep the
peace, were forgiven by Leslie and returned to their homes. Colonel
Ker afterwards returned to Ross, look Redcastle, which he demolished,
and hanged the persons who had defended it. Thus ended this prema-
ture insurrection which, had it been delayed till the arrival of Mon-
trose, might have been attended with a very different result.*

The projected descent by Montrose upon Scotland, was considerea
by many persons as a desperate measure, which none but those quite
reckless of consequences would attempt; but there were others, chiefly
among the ultra roj'alists, who viewed the affair in a difierent light, and
who, although they considered the enterprise as one not without
considerable risk, anticipated its success. Such at least were the senti-
ments of some of the king's friends before the insurrection under Mac-
kenzie of Pluscardin had been crushed ; but it is very probable that
these were greatly altered after its suppression. But whatever change
may have taken place in the minds of these supporters of royalty
when thej' beheld the whole Scottish nation laying prostrate at the
feet of Argyle, the bold and daring spirit of Montrose, raised bj' recent
events to the highest pitch of enthusiasm, still maintained its moral alti-
tude in those visionary regions of earthly greatness in which his vivid
imagination delighted to dwell. The failure of Pluscardin's ill-timed
attempt, was indeed considered by Montrose as a great misfortune, but
a misfortune far from irreparable, and as he had invitations from the
royalist nobility of Scotland, requesting him to enter upon his enterprise,
and promising him every assistance in their power, and as he was assured
that the great body of the Scottish nation was ready to second his views,
he entered upon the task assigned him by his new master, with an alacrity
and willingness which indicated a confidence on his part of ultimate
success.

In terms of the powers he had received from the king, Montrose
visited the north of Europe, and obtained promises of assistance of men,
money, and ammunition, from some of the northern princes ; but few
of them fulfilled their engagements in consequence of the intrigues of the
king's enemies with the courtiers, who thwarted with all their influence
the measures of Montrose. By the most indefatigable industry and perse-
verance, however, he collected a force of twelve hundred men at Gotten-
burg, about eight hundred of whom had been raised in Holstein and Ham-
burg, and having received from the queen of Sweden, fifteen hundred coiu-

• Gordon's Conti]iua(ion, p. 517, rt scq.

LANDIJJG OF MONTROSE IN ORKNEY. 29^

plete stands of arms, for arming such persons as might join his standard
on landing in Scotland, he resolved, without loss of time, to send off this
armament to the Orkneys, where, in consequence of a previous arrange-
ment with the earl of Morton, who was favourable to the king, it was
agreed that a descent should be made. Accordingly, the first division
of the expedition, which consisted of three parts, was despatched early
in September ; but it never reached its destination, the vessels having
foundered at sea in a storm. The second division was more fortunate,
and arrived at Kirkwall, about the end of the month. It consisted of
two hundred common soldiers and eighty officers, under the command
of the earl of Kinnoul, who on landing was joined by his uncle the earl
of Kinnoul, and by many of the Orkney gentlemen. Kinnoul im-
mediately laid siege to the castle of Birsay, which was soon surrendered
to him ; and he proceeded to raise levies among the Orcadians, but was
checked in his progress in consequence of a difference with Morton,
who claimed the privilege, as superior of Orkney, of commanding his
own vassals, a claim which Kinnoul would not allow. IMorton felt the
repulse keenly, and died soon thereafter of a broken heart, as is be.
lieved. His nephew, probably hurt at the treatment he had given hii
uncle, speedily followed him to the gra\e.

The news of Kinnoul's landing reached Edinburgh about the four
teenth of October, when General David Leslie was despatched to the
north with seven or eight troops of horse to watch him if he attempted
to cross the Pentland Frith ; but seeing no appearance of an enemy,
and hearing of intended commotions among the royalists in Angus and
tlie Mearns, he returned to the south after an absence of fifteen days,*
having previously placed strong garrisons in some of the northern
strengths.-j-

Montrose himself, with the remainder of the expedition, still tarried at
Gottenburg, in the expectation of obtaining additional reinforcements
or of procuring supplies of arms and money. It appears from a letter:):
which he addressed to the earl of Scaforth, of the date of fifteenth De-
cember, that he intended to sail for Scotland the following day ; but
owing to various causes he did not leave Gottenburg till about the end o(
February following. He landed in Orkney in the beginning of March,
with a force of five hundred men, accompanied by Lord Frendraught,
Major General Hurry, and other gentlemen who had attached them-
selves to his service and fortunes.

To prepare the minds of the people of Scotland for the enterprize
he was about to undertake, Montrose, about the close of the year, had cir-
culated a " Declaration" in Scotland, as " Lieutenant-governor and
Captain-general for his Majesty of the Kingdom of Scotland," in which,
afler detailing the proceedings of those whom he termed " an horrid
and infamous faction of rebels within the kingdom of Scotland," towards

• Balfour, vul. Hi. p. 4S2. t Gorilon's Continuation, p. 551.
t Appeiulix to Wisliart's Memoirs, p. 4-11.

30 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS. »

his late majesty, he declared that his present majesty was not only
willing to pardon every one, with the exception of those who upon clear
evidence should be found guilty " of that most damnable fact of murder
of his father," provided that immediately or upon the first conven-
ient occasion, they abandoned the rebels and joined him, and therefore,
he expected all persons who had "any duty left them to God, their king,
country, friends, homes, wives, children, or would change now at last
the tyranny, violence, and oppression of those rebels, with the mild and
innocent government of their just prince, or revenge the horrid and
execrable murdering of their sacred king, redeem their nation from
infamy, restore the present and oblige the ages to come, would join
themselves with hira in the service he was about to engage."

This declaration which, by order of the committee of estates, was
publicly burnt at the market cross of Edinburgh, by the hands of the
common hangman, was answered on the second of January, bj' a " de-
claration and warning of the commission of the General Assembly,"
addressed to "all the members of the kil-k and kingdom," which was
followed on the twenty-fourth of the same month, by another " declara-
tion" from the committee of estates of the parliament of Scotland, in
vindication of their proceedings from " the aspersions of a ^candalous
pamphlet, published bj' that excommunicate traitor, James Graham,
under the title of a ' Declaration of James, ^Slarquis of Montrose." The
last of these documents vindicates at great length, and apparently with
great success, those whom Montrose had designated the " infamous
liiction of rebels," not because the committee thought " it worth the while
to answer the slanders and groundless reproaches of that viperous brood
of Satan, James Graham, whom the estates of parliament had long since
declared traitor, the church delivered into tlie hands of the devil, and
the nation doth generally detest and abhor ;" but because " their
silence might be subject to misconstruction, and some of the weaker
sort might be inveigled by the bold assertions and railing accusations
of this impudent braggard, presenting himself to the view of the
world clothed with his majesty's authority, as lieutenant-governor and
captain-general of this kingdom.'' These declarations of the kirk and
estates, backed as they were by fulminations from all the pulpits of the
kingdom against Montrose, made a deep impression on men's minds,
which was highly unfavourable to him, and as the committee of estates
discharged all persons from aiding or assisting hira under the pain of high
treason, and as every action and word of those considered friendlj' to
him were strictly watched, they did not attempt, and had they attempted,
would have found it impossible, to make any preparations to receive
him on his arrival.

Such was the situation of matters when Montrose landed in Orkney,
where, in consequence of the death of Morton and Kiinioul, little pro-
gress had been made in raising troops. He remained several weeks in
Orkney, without exciting much notice, and having collected about eight

ADVANCE OF MONTROSE INTO SUTHERLAND. 31

liundred of the natives, which, with the addition of the two hundred
troops carried over by Kiiuioul, made his wliole force amount to about
fifteen hundred men, he crossed the Pcnthnid F"rith in a number of
boats colh-cted among the islands, and landed witliout opposition at the
nortiiern extremity of Caithness, in tlie immediate vicinity of Jolin o'
Groat's house. On landing, he displayed three banners, one of which
was made of black taffeta, in the centre of which was exhibited a repre-
sentation of the bleeding head of the late king, as struck off from the
body, surrounded by two inscriptions, " Judge and avenge my cause
O Lord," and " Deo et victricibus armis." Another standard had this
motto, " Quos pictas virtus et honor fecit amicus." These two ban-
ners were those of the king. The third, which was Montrose's own,
bore the words, " Nil medium," a motto strongly significant of the
stern and uncompromising character of the man.* Montrose immediately
compelled the inhabitants of Caithness to swear obedience to him as
the king's lieutenant-governor. All the ministers, with the exception of
one named William Smith, took the oath, and to punish Smith for his
disobedience, he was sent in irons on board of a vessel.f A number of
the inhabitants, however, alarmed at the arrival of foreign troops, with
whose presence they considered carnage and murder to be associated,
were seized with a panic and fled, nor did some of them stop till they
reached Edinburgh, where they carried the alarming intelligence of
Montrose's advance to the parliament wduch was then sitting.

As soon as the earl of Sutherland heard of Montrose's arrival h:
Caithness, he assembled all his countrymen to oppose his advance ^ito
Sutherland. He sent, at the same time, for two troops of horse stationed
in Ross, to assist him, but their ofTicers being in Edinburgh, they re-
fused to obey, as they had received no orders. Being apprized of the
earl's movements, and anticipating tliat he might secure the important
pass of the Ord, and thus prevent him from entering Sutherland, Mon-
trose despatched a body of five hundred men to the south, who obtained
possession of the pass. The next step Montrose took, was against the
castle of Dunbeath, belonging to Sir John Sinclair, who, on Mon-
trose's arrival, had fled and left the place in charge of his lady. The
castle was strong and well supplied w-itli provisions, and the possession
of it was considered very important by Montrose, in case he should be
obliged to retreat back into Orkney. The castle, which was defended by
Sir John's lady and a few servants, surrendered to General Hurry;
after a short resistance, on condition that persons and property should
be respected. Hurry, thereupon, put a strong garrison therein, undei
the command of Major Whiteford.

Having secured this important strength, Montrose marched into
Sutherland, leaving Henry Graham, his natural brother, behind him
with a party to raise men for the service. While in Caithness, tie only

* Balfour, vol iii. p. iiO. + Guidon's Contiiniation, p. 552.

3-2

HISTORY OK THE HIGHLANDS.

persons that proffered their services to !!Montrose, were Hugh Mackay
of Skoury, Hugh Mackay of Dirlet, and Alexander Sinclair of Brims,
nhom he despatched to Stratlinaver, to collect forces, but they ap-
pear to have neglected the matter. On the approach of Montrose,
the ear! of Sutherland, not conceiving himself in a condition to resist
him, retired with his men, and putting strong garrisons into Dunrobin,
Skeibo, Skibo, and Dornoch, and sending off a party with cattle and
effects to the hills to be out of the reach of the enemy, he went himself
into Ross with three hundred of his men. Montrose continued to ad-
vance and encamped the first night at Garty and Helmsdale, the second
at Kintredwell, and the third night at Rhives. In passing by Dunrobin, a
part of his men went between the castle and the sea, some of whom were
killed, and others taken prisoners, in a sortie from the garrison. ■ On the
following day, Montrose demanded the prisoners from William Gor-
don the commander of Dunrobin, but his request was refused. Mon-
trose encamped at Rian in Strathlleet the fourth night, at Gruidy on
the fifth, and at Strathoikel on the sixth. He then marched to Carbis-
dale, on the borders of Ross-shire where he halted a few days in expec-
tation of being joined by the Maekenzies. While reposing here in
fancied security and calculating on complete success, he sent a notifica-
tion to the earl of Sutherland to this effect, that though he had spared
his lands for the present, yet the time was at hand when he would
make his own neighbours undo him. Little did Montrose then expect
that he himself who had often gratified his revenge, was so soon to be
taken captive and suffer an ignominious death I

As soon as intelligence of Montrose's descent was received in Edin-
burgh, the most active preparations were made to send north troops to
meet him. David Leslie, the conmiander-iu-chief, appointed Brechin
as the place of rendezvous for the troops ; but as a considerable time
would necessarily elapse before they coidd be all collected, and as ap-
prehensions were entertained that Montrose might speedily penetrate
into the heart of the Highlands, where he could not fail to find
auxiliaries, Lieutenant-Colonel Strachan, an officer who had of late
been particularly active in suppressing Phiscardin's insurrection, was
despatched, in the meantime, to the north with a few troops of horse,
for the purpose of keeping Montrose in check, and enabling the earl of
Sutherland, and the other presbyterian leaders in the north to raise
their levies. These troops, which were those of Ker, Hacket, Mont-
gomery, and Strachan, and an Irish troop commanded by one Col-
lace, were joined by a body of about five hundred foot under the earl
of Sutherland, Ross of Balnagown, and Munro of Lumlair, all of whom
were assembled at Tain when Montrose encamped at Strathoikel.
This movement brought the hostile parties within twenty miles of each
other, but Montrose was not aware that his enemy was so near at hand.
Strachan, who had early intelligence brought him of Montrose's advance,
innnediatelv enlled a council of war to deliberate, at which it was re-

DEFEAT l;F MONTKOSE AT CARBISDALE. 33

solvea that the earl of Sutherland should, by a circuitous movement,
throw himself into Montrose's rear, in order to prevent a junction between
him and Henry Graham, and such of the Strathnaver and Caithness
men as sliould attempt to join him, and to protect the country of Suther-
land from the threatened ravages of Montrose, and that, at the same
time, Straohan with his five troops of horse, and the Munrocs, and Rosses,
under Balnagown, and Lumlair, should march directly forward and
attack Montrose in the level country before he should, as was contem-
plated, retire to the hills on the approach of Leslie, who was hasten-
ing rapidly north with a force of four thousand horse and foot, at the
rate of thirtj' miles a-daj-.

It was Saturday the twenty-seventh day of April, when Strachan's
officers were deliberating whether they should move immediately forward
or wait till Mondaj', " and so decline the hazard of engaging upon the
Lord's day,"* when notice being brought that Montrose had advanced
from Strathoikel to Carbisdale, a movement which brought him six miles
nearer to them : they therefore made arrangements for attacking him with-
out delay. Strachan advanced without observation as far as Fearn, within
a mile and a half or two miles of Montrose, where he concealed his men on
a muii" covered with broom, whence he sent out a party of scouts under
Captain Andrew Munro, son of Munro of Lumlair, to reconnoitre Mon-
trose. Munro soon returned and reported that Montrose had sent out
a body of forty horse to ascertain theii' movements. In order to de-
ceive this body, Strachan ordered one troop of horse out of the broom,
which being the only force observed by Montrose's scouts, they returned
and reported to Montrose what they had seen. This intelligence threw
Montrose completely oflf his guard, who, conceiving that the wlolo
strength of the enemy consisted of a single troop of horse, made no pre-
parations for defending himself.

In the meantime, Strachan formed his men into four divisions. The
first, which consisted of about a hundred horsemen, he commanded him-
self; the second, amounting to upwards of eighty, was given in ciiarge to
Hackct ; and the thirtl, also horse, to the number of about forty, was
led by Captain Hutchoson. The fourth division, which was composed
of a body of musketeers belonging to Lawer's regiment, was conmianded
by one Quarter-master Shaw, f

The deception which had been so well practised upon Montrose by
Strachan, in concealing the real amount of his force, miglit not have
been attended with any serious effect to Montrose; but for another strata-
gem which Strachan had in reserve, which proved his ruin. Strachan's
scheme was first to advance with his own division to make appear
as if his whole strength consisted at first of only a hundred horse, and
while Montrose was impressed with this false iilea to bring up the othei
ihrce divisions in rapid succession, and thus create a panic among

• Balnn.r, v.l. iv. |.. 9. t H'i'l- iv. p. 9.

34

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Monirose s men as if a largo army vas about to attack them. This
contrivance was crowned with the most complete success. Montrosp
little suspecting the trick, was tlirown quite off his guard, and alarmed
at the sudden appearance of successive bodies of cavalry, he immediattlv
gave orders for a retreat to a wood and craggy hill at a short distance in
his rear ; but before Montrose's men could reach their intended place ol
retreat, they were overtaken when almost breathless, as they were about
entering the wood, by Strachan's troopers, who charged them violently
The foreign troops received the charge with firmness, and, after dis-
charging a volley upon the horse, flew into the wood ; but most of the
Orcadians threw down tlieir arms in terror and begged for quarter
The IMunroes and Rosses followed the Danish troops into the wood and
killed many of them. Two hundred of the fugitives in attempting to
cross the adjoining river were all drowned.

Montrose for some time made an unavailing effort to rally some of
his men, and fought with his accustomed brav(-ry ; but having his horse
shot under him, and seeing it utterly impossible longer to resist the
enemy, he mounted the horse of Lord Frendraught, which that j'oung
and generous nobleman proffered him, and galloped off the field ; and
as soon as he got out of the reach of the enemy, he dismounted,
and tin-owing away his cloak, which was decorated with the star of the
garter, and his sword, sought his safety on foot.

The slaughter of Montrose's men continued about two hours, or until
sunset, during which time ten of his best officers and three hundred
and eighty-six common soldiers were killed. The most conspicuous
among the former for bravery was Menzies younger of Pitfoddles, the
bearer of the black standard, who repeatedly refused to receive quarter.
Upwards of four hundred prisoners were taken, including thirty-one offi-
cers, among whom were Sir John Hurry and Lord Frendraught, the latter
of whom was severely wounded. Among the prisoners taken were two min-
isters. This victory was achieved almost without bloodshed on the part ol
the victors, who had only two men wounded. One of their troopers was
drowned in his eagerness pursuing the party of royalists who perished
in the river. After the slaughter, the conquerors returned thanks to
God on the open field for the victory they had obtained, and returned
to Tuin, carrying the prisoners along with them.* For several daj-s the
people of Ross and Sutherland continued to pursue some unfortunate
stragglers, whom tliey despatched. The result was most calamitous to
Orkney, as appears from a petition and memorandum by the gentlemen
of Orkney to Lord Morton in sixteen hundred and sixty-two, in which
It is stated, tliat there was scarcely a gentleman's house in that country
■" i(uf lost either a son or a brother." f

• Goidtiii's Ci)iilimi;itio
f VhU'. tlic docujner.l in tlie A{>]iciiiii\ to Peterki

, p. 5.J5.

Ork:icy uiiii Zt.-K::;!,

"ra/^,

:/

Mo?itrjs<-. accompaiiieJ by tlie earl of Kiiinoul, who had laicly sue-
pprdotl to the title on the death of his brother, and six or seven coii;-

. lions, having, as before stated, dismounted from his horsq and
ii ■■ nva nway his rloak and sword, and havin<:, by the advice of his

rViuiids, to avoid detection, exclianged his clothes for the more ' ' ■

attire of a common higlilander, he wandored all nif;ht and .
fMlciwintr liivs among bleak and solitary regions, without ■
' and ready to perish undt.T the accumulated i'.
' .1 , and anxiety of mind. The earl of Kinii'" '

IVoiii exhausliou, to follow Montrose aiij' farther, was
moiintainR, where it is supposed he perished. When >irv

~, >t here lii:; natural
troops in possession

riher-in-law, to appreh..'nd every
the hope of catching Monfro^c, t'
I a spicnaid reward was offered. In corisrrn
Mnrrlpo'' cent out VLirious -^-rfh"- in quesi

:! with iiim. . ys Bishop \

abroad iu !e of his !■

y 01 the reward whicn was
^' h;n- -"^v th?. conn;-;! of the

. caiiUe of Ardvrack, his principal

CAPTURE OF MONTROSE. 3q

Montr jse, accompanied by the earl of Kinnoul, who had lately suc-
ceeded to tlie title on the death of his brother, and six or seven com-
panions, having, as before stated, dismounted from his horse and
thrown away Iris cloak and sword, and having, by the advice of his
friends, to avoid detection, exchanged his clothes for the more homely
attire of a common highlandcr, he wandered all night and the two
foHowing days among bleak and solitary regions, wilhout knowing
whore to proceed, and ready to perish under the accumulated distresses
of hunger, fatigue, and anxiety of mind. The earl of Kinnoul, unable,
from exhaustion, to follow Montrose any farther, was left among the
mountains, where it is supposed he perished. When upon the point of
starvation, Montrose was fortunate to liglit upon a small cottage, where
he obtained a supply of milk and bread, * on receiving which he con-
tinued his lonely and dangerous course among the mountains of Suther-
land, at the risk of being seized every hour, and dragged as a felon be-
fore the very man whom, only a few days before, he had threatened with
his vengeance.

In the meantime, active search was made after Montrose. As it was
conjectured that he might attempt to reach Caithness, where his natural
brother, Henry Graham, still remained with some troops in possession
of the castle of Dunbeath, and as it appeared probable, from the
direction Montrose was supposed to have taken, that he meant to go
through Assynt, Captain Andrew Munro sent instructions to Neil Mac-
leod, tlie laii'd of Assynt, liis brother-in-law, to apprehend every strangei
that might enter his bounds, in the hope of catching Montrose, for whose
apprehension a splendid reward was offered. In consequsnce of these
instructions, iMacleod sent out various parties in quest of Montrose,
but they could not fall in with him. " At last (says Bishop Wishart)
the laird of Assynt being abroad in arms with some of his tenants in
search of him, lighted on him in a place where he had continued three
or four daj's without meat or drink, and only one man in his company."
The bishop then states, that " Assynt had formerly been one of Mon-
trose's own followers ; who inunediately knowing him, and believing to
find friendship at his hands, v.illingly discovered himself; but Assynt
not daring to conceal him, and being greedy of the reward which was
promised to the person who should appreliend him bj' the council of the
estates, immediately seized and disarmed him."f This account differs
a little from that of the author of the continuation of Sir Robert Gor-
don's history, who says, tliat it was one of Macleod's parties that ap-
prehended Montrose, but is altogether silent as to Assynt's having
been a follower of Montrose, but Loth writers inform us that Montrose
offered Macleod a large sum of money for his liberty, which he refused
to grant. Macleod kept Montrose and his companion. Major Sinclair,
an Orkney gentleman, prisoners in the castle of Ardvrack, his principal

• iiurduii's CunUnuation, p. .Soo- t Attmi^irs, \i. 377

36 HISTORY OF THE HIGHIANDS.

residence. By order of Leslie, Montrose was thence removed to Skilio
castle, wliere he was kept two nights, thereafter to the castle of Braan-
and thence again to Edinburgh.

In his progress to the capital, Montrose had to endure all those in-
dignities which vulgar minds, instigated by malevolence and fanaticism,
could suggest ; but he bore every insult with the most perfect composure.
At a short interview which he had with two of his children at the house
of the earl of South Esk, his father-in-law, on his way to Edinburgh, he
exhibited the same composure, for " neither at meeting nor parting could
any change of his former countenance be discerned, or the least expres-
sion heard which was not suitable to the greatness of his spirit, and the
fame of his former actions. His behaviour was, during the whole Jour-
ney, such as became a great man ; his countenance was serene and cheer-
ful, as one who was superior to all those reproaches which they had pre-
pared the people to pour out upon him in all the places through which
he was to pass."*

At Dundee, which had particularly suffered from his arm}-, a very
different feeling was, however, shown by tlie inhabitants, who displayed
a generosity of feeling and a sympatliy for fallen greatness, which did
them immortal honour. Instead of insulting the fallen hero in his
distress, they commiserated his misfortunes, and prevailed upon his
guards to permit him to excliange the rustic and mean apparel in which
he bad been apprehended, and which, to excite the derision of the
mob, they had compelled him to wear, for a more becoming dress
which had been provided for him by the people of Dundee. The
sensibilities of the inhabitants had probably been awakened by a
bold and ineffectual attempt by the lady of the laird of Grange, at
whose house, in the neighbourhood of Dundee, Montrose had passed
the previous night, to rescue him. The author of the memoirs of the
Somervilles, gives the following cliaracteristic account of this affair : —

" It was at this ladj'e's house that that party of the covenanters their
standing armie, tliat gairded in the marques of Montrose, efter his forces
was beat and himself betrayed in the north, lodged him, whom this ex-
cellent lady designed to sett at libertie, by procureing his escape from
her iiouse ; in order to this, soe soon as ther quarters was settled, and that
she had observed the way and manner of the placeing of the guairds,
and what officers commanded them, she not only ordered her butlers to
let the souldiers want for noe drink, but she herself, out of respect and
kyndnesse, as she pretended, plyed hard the officers and souldiers of
the main-guaird, (which was keeped in hcrowne hall) with the strongest
ale and acquavite, that before midnight, all of them, (being for the most
part Highlandmen of Lawer's regiment) became starke drunkc. If her
Stewarts and other servants had obeyed her directions in giving out what
drinke the out-gairds should have called for, undoubtedly the business

• .Mcinuirs, p. 380.

CONDEMNATION OF MOJJTROSE. 37

had been effectual ; but uiiliappily, wlien the marques liail passed tht
first and second centinells that was sleeping upon their musquets, and
likenaycs through the main-gaird, that was lying in the hall lyke swyne
on a raidiling, he was challenged a little without the outmost guaird by
a wretched trouper of Strachan's troupe, tliat had been present at his
taking. This fellow was none of the guaird that night, but being quar-
tered hard by, was come rammelling in for his bellieful of drinke, when
he made this unluckie discovery, which being done, the marques was pre-
sently seized upon, and with much rudenesse (being in the ladye's cloaths
which he had put on for a disguize) turned back to his prisone cham-
ber. The ladj', her old husband, with the wholl servants of the house,
were made prisoners for that night, and the morrow efter, when they
came to be challenged before these that had the command of this party,
and some members of that wretched committee of estates, that satt all-
ways at Edenbrough (for mischief to the royall interest,) which they
had sent for the more security, to be still with this party, fearing the
great friends and weill-wishers this noble lieroe had upon the way he
was to come, should either by force or stratageme, be taken from them.
The ladie, as she had been the only contryver of Montrose's escape, soe
did she avow the same before them all ; testifying she was heartily sorrj
it had not taken effect according to her wished desyre. This confidence
of hers, as it bred some admiratione in her accusers, soe it freed her
husband and the servants from being fardcr challenged ; only they took
security of the laird for his ladye's appearing before the comniittie of
estates when called, which she never was. Ther worships gott something
else to thinke upon, then to conveen soe excellent a lady before them
upon such ane account, as tended greatly to her honour and ther oune
shame."

The parliarai'nt, which had adjourned itself till the fifteenth of May,
met on the appointed day, and that no time might be lost in get-
ting rid of Montrose, they named a committee composed of his dead-
liest enemies to devise the mode of his reception into the capital and
the manner of his death, in terms of whoso report an act was passed
on the seventeenth of Maj' ordaining, " James Graham," to be convey-
i d bareheaded from the Water Gate, the eastern extremity of the city,
')n a cart, to which he was to be tied with a rope, and drawn by the
hangman in his livery, with his hat on, to the jail of Edinburgh, and
thence to be brought to the parliament house, and there on his knees
to receive sentence of death to this eff'ect, — that he should be hanged
on a gibbet at the cross of Edinburgh, with the book which contained
the history of his wars and the declaration which he had issued, tied to
his neck, and after hinging for the space of three hours, that his
body should be cut down by the hangman, his head severed from
his body, fixed on an iron pike and placed on the pinnacle on the west
end of the prison, that his hands and legs should also b-; cut off, the for-
mer to be placed over the gates of Perth and Stirliiig, and the lattel

38

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

over those of Aberdeen and Glasgow, — tnat if at liis death he showed
any signs of repentance, and should in consequence be relieved from
tlie sentence of excommunication, which the kirk had pronounced
against him, tliatthe trunk of his body should be interred by "pioneers"
in tlie Gray Friars' churchyard ; but otherwise, that it should be buried
in the Boroughmuir, the usual place of execution, under the scaffold, by
the hangman's assistants.*

Tlie minds of tlie populace had, at this time, been wrought up to
tilt highest pitch of hatred at Montrose by the ministers, who, during
a fast which had lately been held in thanksgiving for his apprehension,
Iiad launched out the most dreadful and bloody invectives against him,
and to tliis circumstance is to be attributed tlie ignominious plan de-
vised for his reception, by exhibiting hira as a spectacle for popular ven-
geance, in order to confirm, in tlie minds of the vulgar, the unfavoura-
ble impressions they had imbibed, and that they might overwhelm the
unfortunate victim with contumely, and perhaps commit acts of violence
upon his person.

On the day following the passing of the act, Montrose was brought
up from Leith, mounted on an outworn horse, to the Water Gate, along
with twenty-three of his officers, his fellow prisoners, where he was
met about four o'clock, p.m. by the magistrates of the city in their
robes, followed by the " town guard," and the common executioner.
Having been delivered by his guards to the civic authorities, whose duty
it now was to take charge of his person, Montrose was, for the first
time, made acquainted with the fate whicli awaited him by one of the
magistrates putting a copy of the sentence into his hands that he might
read it. He perused the paper with composure, and after he had read
it, he informed the magistrates that he was ready to submit to it, and
only regretted, " tliat through him the king's majesty, whose person he
represented, should be so much dishonoured."f

Before mounting the vehicle brought for his reception, Montrose was
ordered by the hangman to uncover his head ; but as the mandate was
not immediately attended to, that abhorred instrument of tlie law en-
forced his command with his own hands. He thereupon made Mon-
trose go into the cart and placing him on a high chair fixed upon a small
platform raised at the end of the cart, he pinioned his arms close to his
sides by means of cords, which being made to pass across his breast,
and fastened beliind the vehicle, kept him so firmly fixed as to render
his bodj' immoveable. The other prisoners, who were tied together in
pairs, having been marshalled in front of the cart in walking order and
uncovered, the hangman, clothed in his terrific attire, mounted the
horse attached to the cart, and the procession thereupon moved ofi' at
a slow pace up the Canongate, in presence of thousands of spectators,
who lined the long and spacious street, and filled the windows of the

• li.,lfuur, iv. p. 1«, 13.

t Wish.irt, p. .'5)ik

RECEPTION OF MONTROSE IN EDiNBUKGIl. 39

aJjoining houses. Among the crowd which thronged the street tu
view the mournful spectacle was a great number of the inferior classes
of the coinmunitj', chicHy females, who had come with the determined
intention of venting abuse upon the fallen hero, and pelting him, as
he proceeded along the street, with dirt, stones, and other missiles, in
consequence of the harangues of the ministers on occasion of the late
fast; but they were so overawed by the dignity of his demeanour, and
the undaunted courage of soul which he displayed, that their feelings
were at once overcome, and instead of covering him with reproaches,
they dissolved into tears of pity at the sight of fallen greatness, and in-
voked the blessings of heaven upon the head of the illustrious captive.
A result so totally unlocked for, could not be but exceedingly displeas-
ing to the enemies of Montrose, and particularly to the ministers, who,
on the following day, being Sunday, denounced the conduct of the
people from the pulpits of the city, and threatened them with the wrath
of heaven.

But displeasing as the humane reception of Montrose was to the
clergy, it must have been much more mortifying^to Argyle, his mortal
enemy, who, regardless of decency and good feeling, displayed his ha-
tred at his prostrate adversary by feasting his eyes with the sorrow-
ful spectacle of a chivalrous and high-minded man, illustrious for
his achievements and noble birth, dragged as a felon, by the common
executioner, through the streets of the metropolis. Had he been
prompted by a mere feeling of curiosity to see his defenceless victim,
from whom, when armed, he had, craven-like, so often slunk away, — a
feeling which no other man in Argyle's situation would have sought to
indulge, — he might have adopted various waj'S to otfect his purpose
without observation ; but such a line of conduct did not accord with
the mean and cowardly spirit of Argyle, who, surrounded by his family
and friends, appeared publicly on a balcony in front of the earl of Mo-
ray's house in the Canongate, where with malignant complacency he
beheld the great Montrose in a condition to which even the vilest of
mankind are seldom reduced. To add to the insult, the vehicle which
carried Montrose was stopped for some time beneath the place where
Argyle and his party stood, to adow them a leisurely view of the object
of their hate, and that they might indulge, in his presence, in those de-
monstrations of unworthy triumph which little and vindictive minds
never fail to exhibit towards the unfortunate. With what feelings of
disdain and contemptuous pity must Montrose have been seized when
his eyes met those of his pusillanimous and vindictive rival ! But what-
ever were the inward workings of his soul, he betrayed no symptoms
of inquietude, but preserved, during this trying scene, a dignified com-
posure which overwhelmed his recreant insulters with shame.

Although the distance from the Water Gate to the prison was only
about half a mile, yet so slow had the procession moved, that it « as
almost seven o'clock in the evening before it reached the pi-ison. ^\'l^en

40 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

releaspd from the cart Montrose gave the hangman some money for Iiis
services in having driven his " triumphal chariot,"* as lie jocularly
termed the cart, so well. On being lodged in jail, he was immediately
visited by a small committee appointed by the parliament, which had
held an extraordinary meeting at six o'clock in the evening. Balfour
says, that the object of the committee, which consisted of three mem-
bers and two ministers, was to ask " James Grahame if he had any
thing to say, and to show him that he was to repair to the house to re-
ceive his sentence." The house remained sitting till the return of the
deputation, who reported that Montrose had refused to answer any of
the interrogatories put to him till he was informed upon what terms
they stood with the king, and whether they had concluded any agree-
nieiit with him. In consequence of this information, the parliament
delayed passing sentence till 10 o'clock a. m. of Monday, the twentieth
of May ; and, in the meantime, appointed seven of their members to
wait upon the marquis and examine him on some points respecting
" Duke Hamilton and others ;" and to induce him to answer, the depu-
tation was instructed to inform him, that an agreement had been con-
eluded between the commissioners on the part of the estates and his
majesty, who was coming to Scotland.-]- INIontrose, however, excused
himself from annoyance by stating, that as his journey had been long,
and as " the ceremony and compliment they had paid him that day
had been somewhat wearisome and tedious," he required repose. + in
consequence of which the deputation leii him.

Montrose meant to have spent the whole of the following day, being
Sunday, in devotional exercises suitable to his trying situation ; but he
was denied this consolation by the incessant intrusions of the ministers
and members of parliament, who annoyed him by putting a variety of
ensnaring questions to him, which he having refused to answer, they
gave vent to the foulest reproaches against him. These insults, how-
ever, had no effect on him, nor did he show the least symptoms of im-
patience, but carried himself throughout with a firmness which no
menaces could shake. When he broke silence at last, he said that " they
were much mistaken if they imagined that they had affronted him by
carrying him in a vile cart the day before ; for he esteemed it the most
honourable and cheerful journey he had ever performed in his life ; his
most merciful God and Redeemer having all the while manifested his
presence to him in a most comfortable and inexpressible manner, and
supplied him by his divine grace, with resolution and constancy to over-
look the reproaches of men, :ind to behold him alone for w hose cause
lie suft'ered."§

Agreeably to the order of parliament, Montrose was brought up by
the magistrates of Edinburgh on Monday at ten o'clock A. M. to receive
sciilence. As if to give dignity and importance to the cause for which

• \Vi-l,:i 1 p. Ssn. + Rnlfniir, vol. iv. 1). U.

t VVibhait. |i. .'iSfi. \ \Sisliait, \>. .S87.

montkose's defence. 41

lie was ;ibout to suffer and to show bow indifferent ho was to his own
fate, Montrose appeared at the bar of the parliament in a superb dress
whicli he liad provided for tlie purpose, after iiis arrival in Edinburgh.
His small clothes consisted of a rich suit of black silk, covered with
costly silver lace, over which he wore a scarlet rocket which i-eached to
his knee, anil which was trimmed with silver galouns, and lined with
crimson taffeta. He also wore silk stockings of a carnation colour with
garters, roses and corresponding ornaments, and a beaver hat having a
very rich silver band.*

Having ascended " the place of delinquents," a platform on which
criminals received sentence, Montrose surveyed the scene before him
with his wonted composure, and though his countenance was rather pale,
and exliibited other symptoms of care, his firmness never for a moment
forsook him. Twice indeed was he observed to heave a sigh and to roll
his eyes along the house,f during the virulent invectives which the lord-
chancellor (Loudon) poured out upon him, but these emotions were
only the indications of the warmth of his feelings while suffering under
reproaches which he could not resent

The lord-chancelior, in rising to adtlress Montrose, entered into a long
detail of his "rebellions," as he designated the warlike actions of Mon-
trose, who, he said, had invaded his native country with hostile arras, and
had called in Irish rebels and foreigners to his assistance. He then re-
proached Montrose with having broken not only the national covenant,
which he had bound himself to support, but also the solemn league and
covenant, to which the whole nation had sworn ; and he concluded by
informing Montrose, that for the many murdofs, treasons, and impieties
of which he had been guilty, God had now brought him to suffer con-
dign punishment. After the chancellor had concluded his harangue,
Montrose requested permission to say a few words in his own vindica-
tion, which being granted, though not without some difiicultj', he
stated,

" That as he considered the parliament to be now sitting under the
authority of the king, he had apjjeare 1 before them with becoming re-
spect, and had uncovered himself, which he would not otherwise have
willingly done — that in all cases, and particularly in imblic affairs, his
chief concern had always been to act as a good Christian and a faithful
subject, and that he had done nothing of which he was ashamed or had
reason to repent. He freely admitted that he had engaged in the first,
or national covenant, and had complied with it, and with those who
took it, as long as the ends for which it was ordained were observed ;
but when he discovered, what soon became evident to all the world, that
some private persons, under the pretence of reforming some errors in
religion, and preserving public liberty, intended to abridge and take

• Ualfuur, vol. iv. p. 16, note to Kiikton's Cliuich History, p. 124. Re lalioii uf tli«
executiuii uf James Graliam, London, 1650.

+ Bnlfour, vol. iv. |i. 16.

42 HISTORY OF THE HIGIILASCS.

away the king's just power and lawful authority, and assame it them-
selves, he had then withdrawn himself fioin that engagement ; and when,
in order to disappoint these men, and to clear tliemselves from being
concerned in such base designs, tlie honest part of" the nation thought it
necessary to enter into an association for the security of religion, and
tlie preservation of the royal authority, he likewise joined in it and sub-
scribed it; that as to tlie solemn league and covenant, he had never
taken it, and never could ajiprove or acknowledge it as a just and law-
ful confederacj' ; and therefore could not be accused of having broken
it ; and how far religion, which was now split into innumerable sects
and parties, had been advanced by it, and what horrible mischiefs and
dreadful tragedies it had occasioned, the three distressed kingdoms bore
an abundant testimony — that when the late king had almost subdued his
rebellious subjects in England, and a faction in Scotland, under colour
of the solemn league, had sent in verj' powerful succours to their assis-
tance, his majestj' had been pleased to send him into Scotland clothed
with his commission and authority to raise an army and make a diver-
sion to prevent, if possible, these auxiliary forces from prosecuting their
rebellious purpose : that he had acknowledged the king's command as
most just, and conceived himself bound in duty and conscience to obey
it, and that there were many persons who now heard him who could
witness how he had executed that commission, and his carriage and be-
haviour during its continuance — that it was not in the power of the
greatest generals altogetlier to prevent disorders in their armj' ; but that
he had endeavoured to do what he could to suppress them, and to punish
the disorderly — that he had not spilt any blood, not even that of his most
inveterate enemies, but in the field of battle ; and that even in the great-
est heat of action he had preserved tlie lives of manj' thousands ; and
that as he had first taken up arras at the command of the king, he had
laid them down upon his orders, without any regard to his own interest,
and bad retired beyond the seas.

" With regard to his late invasion, he said, he had undertaken it at
the command and by the express orders of the present king, (to whom
they all owed duty and allegiance, and for whose long and happy reign
he offered his sincere and earnest prayers,) in order to accelerate the
treaty which was then begun betwixt him and them — that it was his in-
tention, as soon as tlie treaty had been concluded, to lay down his arms
and retire at the call of his majesty ; and such being his authority and
determination, he might justly affirm, that no subject ever acted upon
more honourable grounds, nor by a more lawful power and authority
than he had done in the late expedition.

" In conclusion, he called upon the assemblage to lay aside all pre-
judice, private animosity, and desire of revenge, and to consider him, in
relation to the justice of his cause, as a man and a Christian, and an
obedient subject, in relation to the commands of his sovereign, which he
had faithfully executed. He then put them in mind of the great obli-

BEHAVIOUR OP MONTROSE IN PRISON. 43

gallons wliicli many of them were uiuler to liim, for Iiaving preserved
their lives and fortuiirs at a time when lie had the power and authority,
liad he inclineil, of destroying both, and entreated thorn not to judge
him rashly, but according to tlie laws of God, the laws of nature and
nations, and particularly by the laws of the land — that if they should
refuse to do so, he would appeal to the just Judge of the world, who
would at last judge them all, and pronounce a righteous sentence."*

This speech was delivered without affectation or embarrassment, and
with such firmness and clearness of intonation, that accorthng to a cavalier
historian, many persons present were afterwards heard to declare, that he
looked and spoke as he had been accustomed when at the head of his
army.f Tlie chancellor replied to Montrose, in a strain of the most furious
invective, "punctually proving him, (says Balfour) by his acts of hostility,
to be a person most infamous, perjured, treacherous, and of all that this
land ever brought forth, the most creuell and inhumane butcher and
nmrtherer of his natione, a sworne enimy to the covenant and peace ol
his countrey, and one quhosse boundlesse pryde and ambition had lost
tiie father, and by his wicked counsells done quhat in him lay to distroy
the sone lykwayes."J

Montrose attempted to adtlress the court a second time, but was
rudely interrupted by the chancellor, who ordered him to keep silence,
and to kneel down and receive his sentence. The prisoner at once obey-
ed, but remarked, that on falling on his knees, he meant only to honour
the king his master, and not the parliament. While Sir Archibald
Johnston, the clerk-register, was reading the sentence, Montrose kept his
countenance erect and displayed his usual firmness After the sentence
had been read, the executioner, agreeably to ancient practice, repeated
the doom. Montrose was thereupon carried back to prison, § there to
remain till three o'clock the following day, the time fixed for his execu-
tion.

The feelings of humanity and the voice of religion, now demanded that
the unfortunate prisoner should be allowed to spend the short time he had
to live, in those solemn preparations for death, enjoined by religion, in
privacy and without molestation ; but it was his fate to be in the hands of
men in whose breasts such feelings had no place, and whose religion was
deeply imbued with a stern and gloomy fanaticism, to which charity was an
entire stranger. No sooner, therefore, had Montrose returned to prison,
than he was again assailed by the ministers, who endeavoured to induce
him to submit to the kirk, no doubt considering the conversion of such an
extraordinary malignant as Montrose, as a theological achievement of
the first importance. To subdue his obstinacy, they magnified the power
of the keys, which they said had been committed to them, and informed
him that unless he reconciled himself to the kirk and obtained a re-

' Wisliart, p. 391. t MonliilK^ Hist, of die Troubles, p. 511.

t Aniia!s, vol. iv. p. 15. t Ibid. p. 16.

44

HISTOnV OF THE HIGHLANDS

lease from the sentence of excomiminicatioii which had becu pronounced
against him, lie would be eternally damned. But Montrose, regardless
of their threats and denunciations, remained inflexible. Besides the
ministers, he was frequently waited upon by the magistrates of the city,
with whom he entered into conversation. He told them that he was
much indebted to the parliament for the great honour thoy had decreed
him, — that he was prouder to have his head fixed upon the top of the
prison, than if they had decreed a golden statue to be erected to him in
the market-place, or ordered his portrait to be placed in the king's bed-
chamber,— that so far from grieving for the mutilation A^hich his body
was about to undergo, he was happy that the parliament had taken such
an eifectual method of preserving the memory of his loyalty, by trans-
mitting such proofs of them to the four principal cities of the kingdom,
and he only wished that he had flesh enough to have sent a piece to
every city in Christendom, as a testimony of his unshaken love and
fidelity to his king and country.* But annoying as the visits of
the ministers and magistrates undoubtedly were, Montrose was still far-
ther doomed to undergo the humiliation of being placed under the more
immediate charge of Major Weir, who afterwards obtained an infamous
notoriety in the annals of criminal jurisprudence. This incestuous wretch,
who laid claim to superior godliness, and who pretended to be gifted
with the spirit of prayer, of which he gave proofs by many extemporary
effusions, gave Montrose great uneasiness by smoking tobacco, to the
smell of which, Montrose had, like Clxarles I., a particular aversion.

During the night, when free from the intrusion of the ministers,
Montrose occupied himself in prayer and mental devotion, and even
found leisure to gratify his poetic taste, bj- composing the following lines
which he wrote upon the window of the chamber in which he was con-
fined.

Let them bestow on every airth a linib.

Then open all my veins, that I may swim

To thee, my Maker, in that crimson lake,

Then place my par.boiled head upon a stake ;

Scatter my ashes, slrow them in the air.

Lord, since thou knowest where all these atoms arc,

I'm hopeful thou'lt recover once my dust.

And confident thou'lt raise me with the just.

On the morning of the twenty-first of May, sixteen hundred and
fifty, the city of Edinlnirgh was put into a state of commotion by the
noise of drums and trumpets, which was heard in every quarter of the
city. The sound attracted the notice of Montrose, who inquired at the
captain of the guard the cause of it. The officer told him that the par-
liament, dreading that an attempt might be made by the mob, under
the influence of the malignants, to rescue him, had given orders to call

■VVisharl, p. a03.

EXECUTION OF MONTROSE. 45

out tlie soldiers and citizens to arms. " Do I," said the marquis,
'who was such a terror to these good men, wlien alive, continue still so
tbrniidable to them, now that I am about to die? But let them look to
themselves ; for even after I am dead, I will be continually present to
their wicked consciences, and become more formidable to them than
w liile I was alive."

After partaking of a hearty breakfast, Montrose entered upon the
business of the toilet, to which he paid particular attention. While in
the act of combing his hair, he was visited by Sir Archibald Johnston,
the clerk-register, one of liis most inveterate foes, who made some im-
pertinent remarks on the impropriety, as he thought, of a person in the
dreadful situation of the marquis, occupying some of the precious ino-
raents he had yet to live in frivolous attentions to his person. The mar-
quis, who knew well the character of this morose man, thus addressed
him with a smile of contempt, " While ray head is my own, I will dress
and adorn it ; but to-morrow, when it becomes yours, you may treat it
as you please.''

About an hour before the time fixed for his execution, Montrose was
waited upon by the magistrates of the city, who saw him conveyed to
the place of execution on the same vehicle on which he had been carried
into the city. lu addition to the dress which he wore on that occasion,
he was now habited in a superb scarlet cloak, ornamented with gold and
silver lace, which his friends had provided him with. Long before his
removal from prison, an immense assemblage of persons had congregated
around the place of execution in the High-street, all of whom were
deeply affected on Montrose's appearance. As he proceeded along, he
had, says Wishart, "such a grand air, and so much beauty, majesty,
and gravity appeared in his countenance, as shocked the whole city at
the cruelty that was designed him ; and extorted even from his enemies
this unwilling confession, that he was a man of the most lofty and ele-
vated soul, and of the most unshaken constancy and resolution that the
age had produced."

It had always been the uniform practice in Scotland to permit all per-
sons about to suffer the last penalty of the law to address the assembled
spectators, and on mounting the scaffold Montrose was proceeding to
avail himself of this privilege ; but the magistrates, who probably had
received their instructions from the parliament, refused to allow him to
harangue the multitude. His friends, however, anticipating this, had
hired a young man, skilled in stenography, who, having stationed him-
self near the scaffold, was enabled to take down the substance of some
observations which Montrose was permitted to make in answer to ques-
tions put by some persons who surrounded him.

He began by remarking that he would consider it extremely hard in-
deed if the mode of his death should be esteemed any reflection upon
him, or prove offensive to any good Christian, seeing that such occur-
rences often happened to the good, at the hands of the wicked, and often

46 HISTORY OP THE HIGHLANDS.

to the wicked at the hands of the good — and that just men sometimes
perish in their righteousnrss, wliilo wicked men prosper in tlieir villanies.
That he, therefore, expected tliat lliose wlio knew liim well would not
esteem him the less for his present sufferings, especially as raanj' greater
and more deserving men than he had undergone the same untimely and
disgraceful fate. Yet, that he could not but acknowledge that all the
judgments of God were just, and that the punishment he was about to
suffer was very deseriedlj' inflicted upon him for the many private sins
he had committed, and he therefore willinglj' submitted to it ;^that he
freely pardoned and forgave his enemies, whom he reckoned but the
instruments of the Divine will, and prayed to God to forgive them,
although they had oppressed the poor, and perverted judgment and
justice.

That he had done nothing contrary to the laws of the kingdom, and
that he had undertaken nothing but in obedience to the just commands
of his sovereign, when reduced to the greatest difficulties by his rebellious
subjects, who had risen up in arms against him — that his principal study
had always been to fear God and honour the king, in a manner agreeable
to the law of God, the laws ef nature, and those of his own country ; and
that, in neither of these respects, had he transgressed against men, but
against God alone, with whom he expected to find abundant mercy, and
in the confidence of which, he was ready to approach the eternal throne
without terror — that he could not pretend to foretell what might happen,
or to pry into the secrets of Divine Providence ; but he prayed to God
that the indignities and cruelties which he was that day to suffer might
not be a prelude of still greater miseries which would befal his afflicted
country, which was fast hastening to ruin.

That with regard to the grievous censure of the church, which he
was sorry some good people thought it a crime in liim to die under, he
observed, that he did not incur it from any fault of his own, but in the
performance of his duty to his lawful prince, for the security of religion,
and the preservation of his sacred person and royal authority — that the
sentence of excommunication, so rashly laid upon him by the clergy, gave
him much concern, and that he earnestly desired to be released from it,
so far as that could be done, agreeably to the laws of God, and without
hurting his conscience or allegiance, whicli, if they refused, he appealed
to God, the righteous judge of the world, who, erelong, was to be his
impartial judge and gracious redeemer.

In answer to the reproaches of some persons who had endeavoured
to destroy the manpiis's character and reputation by spreading a report
that he had laid tlie whole blame of what he had done upon the king and
Ills royal father, he observed that such a thought had never for once
entered into his breast — that the late king had lived a saint and died a
martyr, and he prayed to God, Unit as his own fate was not unlike his, so
liis death might be attended with the same degree of piety and resignation;

EXECUTIOM OF MONTUUSE. 47

for if he ponid wish liis soul in anotlici' uin-rs stead, or to bo conjoined
tvitli it in tlift same condition after tliis life, it would be his alone.

lie then requested that the people would judge charitably of him
and his actions, without prejudice and without passion. He desired the
prayers of all good men for his soul ; for his part, he said he prayed
earnestly for them all ; and with the greatest seriousness, sub.nission and
humility, deprecated the vengeance of Almighty God, which had been
so long awakened, and which was still impending over his afflicteil country
— that his enemies were at liberty to exult and triumph over the perishing
remains of his bod)', but the utmost indignities they could inflict should
never prevail on him, now at his death, to swerve from that duty and
reverence to God, and obedience and respect to the king, which he had
manifested all his life long. " I can say no more (concluded the mar-
quis), but remit mj-self to your charity, and 1 desire your prayers
You that are scandalized at me, give me your charity ; I shall pray for
you all. I leave my soul to God, my service to my prince, my good-
will to my friends, and my name in charity to you all. I might say
more, but I have exonered my conscience ; the rest I leave to God's
mercy."*

A party of ministers who occupied the lower end of the scaffold now
attempted, partly by persuasion and partly by threats, to induce Mon-
trose to yield to the kirk by acknowledging his own criminality; but ha
denied that he had acted contrary to religion and the laws of the land,
and, of course, refused to accept of a reconciliation upon such terms.
Finding him inflexible, they refused to pray for him as he desired, observ-
ing, that no prayers could be of any avail to a man who was an outcast
from the church of God. Being desired to pray by himself apart, he told
them that if they would not permit the people to join with him, his pray-
ers alone and separately before so large an assembly would perhaps be
offensive both to them and him — that he had already poured out his
soul before God, who knew his heart, and to whom he had committed
his spirit. He then shut his eyes, and holding his hat before his face
with his lefl hand, he raised his right in the attitude of prayer, in which
posture he continued about a quarter of an hour in silent and fervent
prayer.

As the fatal hour was fast approaching when this unfortunate noble-
man was to bid a last and eternal adieu to sublunary things, he desired
the executioner to hasten his preparations. This hated functionary, ac-
cordingly, brought the book of Montrose's wars, and his late declara-
tion, which, by the sentence, were ordered to be tied round his neck
with a cord. Montrose himself assisted in carrying this part of his sen-
tence into execution, and while the operation was performing, good-
humouredly remarked, that he considered himself as much honoured
then by having such tokens of his loj'alty attached to his person as he

• \Vi,l,art, p. 399. B^ilfour, vol. iv. p. 22.

43 HISTORY OF THE HIGHTANDS.

had been when his majesty Iiad invested him with t!ie order of the gar-
ter.*

Hitlierto, Montrose had remained uncovered ; but, before aw;eiiding
tlie ladder which conducted to the top of the gibbet, which rose to the
height of tliirty feet from the centre of the scaffold, he requested per-
mission to put on his iiat. This request was, however, refused. He
tlieu aslied leave to keep on his cloak ; but this favour was also denied
him. Irritated, probably at these refusals, he appears for a moment
to have lost his usual equanimity of temper, and when orders were given
to pinion his arms, he told the magistrates that if they could invent any
further marks of ignominy, he was ready to endure them all for the sake
of the cause for which he suffered.

On arriving at the top of the ladder, which he ascended with aston-
ishing firmness, Montrose asked the executioner how long his body was
to be suspended to the gibbet. " Three hours" was the answer. He
then presented the executioner with three or four pieces of gold, told
him he freely forgave him for the part he acted, and instructed him to
throw him off as soon as he observed him uplifting his hands. The exe-
cutioner watched the fatal signal with a throbbing heart, and when the
noble victim raised his hands, the ill-fated functionary obeyed the man-
date, and gave vent to his sorrow by a flood of tears. A feeling of
horror seized the assembled multitude, who expressed their disapproba-
tion b)' a general groan. Among the spectators were many persons mIio
had indulged during the day in bitter invectives against Montrose, but
whose feelings were so overpowered by the sad spectacle of his death
that they could not refrain from toars.t Even the hard-hearted Ar-
gyle, who displayed, for once, at least, some good feeling, by absenting
himself from the execution, is said to have shed tears on hearing of
Montrose's death, but if a cavalier writer is to be believed, his son,
Lord Lome, disgraced himself by the most unfeeling barbarity.J

• AVish.irt, p. 400. t Montrose Redivivus.

t "'Tis said lliat Argyle's expressions had sonietliing of grief in them, and did lilie-
wise weep at the rehearsal of his deutli, (for he was not present at the execution. ) Howsn.
ever, tliey were by many called crocodiles' tears, hoxv worthily I leave to others judg-
ment. But 1 am sure thiTe did in his son. Lord Lome, appear no such sign, who
neither had so much tenderness of heart as to be sorry, nor so much paternal wit as to
dissemble, who, entertaining his new bride (the earl of Moray's daughter) with this
spectacle, mocked and laughed in the midst of that weeping assembly ; and, staying af-
terwards to see him hewn in pieces, triumphed at every stroke which was bestowed upon
Ills mangled body." Montrose Kedivivus, edition of 1652. Note to Wishart's Memoire,
p. 4!)1.

The dismembered portions of Montrose's body were disposed of in terms of the seQ-
tence. Lady Napier, the wife of Montrose's esteemed fjiend and relation, being de-
sirous of procuring his heart, employed some adventurous persons to obtain it for her.
They accomplished this object on the second day after the execution, and were hand-
somely rewarded by lier ladyship. The heart was embalmed by a surgeon, and after
being enshrined in a rich gold urn, was sent by her to the eldest son of the marquis, then
in Flanders. The family of Napier possess a portrait of Lady Napier, in which thcra
is a representation of the urn. — Kiikton's History of the Church of Scotland, note, p. 125;
edited by C. K. Sharpe, Ksquirt*.,

EXECUTION OF MONTKOSE. 49

TIius died, at the early age of tliirty-eiglit, James Graliain, raarqui.-;
of Montrose, who had acejuired daring a short career of militajy
glory greater reputation than perhaps over fell to tlic lot of any coni-
niamU;r in ancient or modern times within tiie same compass of
time. That partisans may liave exaggerated his actions, and ex-
(olled his character too liighly, may be fairly admitted ; but it cannot
be denied that Montrose was really a great commander, and that there
ivere noble and generous traits about him which indicated a high and
cultivated mind, far superior to the age in which he lived. But howevei
■nuch the military exploits of Montrose may be admired, it must never
be forgotten that his sword was drawn against his own countrymen in
their struggles against arbitrary power, and that although there w;i3 much
to condemn in the conduct of the covenanters, subserpient events, in the
reign of the second Charles, showed that they were not mistaken in the
dread which they entertained of the extinction of tlieir religious liberties,
had Charles the First succeeded in his designs.

Among Montrose's officers five of the most distinguished were select-
ed for execution, all of whom perished under 'the Maiilen,' a species
of the guillotine, introduced into Scotland by the Regent Morton, to
which he himself became the first victim. The officers who suffered
were, Sir John Hurry,* Captain Spottiswood, younger of Dairsie, Sir
Francis Hay of Dalgett\', Colonel William Sibbald, and Captain Char-
teris, a cadet of the ancient family of Amisfield. All tliese met death
with extraordinary fortitude. Sir Francis Hay, who was a Catholic,
'' and therefore, (as a cavalier historian quaintly observes) not coining
within the compass of the ministers' prayers,"-)- displayed in particular
an intrepidity worthy of liis name and family.J After a witty metapho-

Afier the Resloralioii, llie trunk was disiiiterreil, and tlie other remains collected, and
on llih May, 1661, "ere deposited with great solemnity by order of Charles II., in the
family aisle in St Giles' church. The remains of Sir Fran is Hay of Dalgetty were
honoured with a similar mark of respect on the same day. For an account of the cere-
monial, see No3 27 and 28 of the Appendix to Wishart's Memoirs.

• Hurry was at first condemned by the parliament to perpetual banishment, "but
the commission of the kirk voted he should die, and tiierrupon sent Iher moderator,
with other two of tiieir number, to the parliament house, who very saucilly, in face of
that great and honourable court, (if it had not been then a hody without a head) told the
president and chancellor that llie ])arliamcnt had granted life to a man whom the law
iiad appointed for death, being a man of blood, (citing these words of our blessed Sa-
viour to Peter — * All they that take the sword shall pei-ish by the sword ;') whereas, it
w.is very weill knoune, all the blood that that unfortunate gentleman had shed in Seot-
land was in ther quarrell and defence, being but then engaged in his master's service,
when he was taken prisoner, and executed at the kiik's instigatione.

" The parliament was sae farre from rebuking Iher bold iiUruder;, or resenting those
Bcis of the commi>sion of the kirk, now quyte hesyde titer master's commissione, as they
will have it understood, and ther owne sulenine professione not to meddle in secular af-
fairs, that the}- rescinded their former act, and passed a sentence of death upon him,
hereby imitating ther dear bretliren, the parliament of England, in the caice of the
Huth.-ims "—Memoirs of the Somerville Family.

+ Wishart, p. 412.

t " His constiincy at death show well he repented nothing he did, in order to his allo-
ffiaiire and Majesty's ser\ire, to the great shame of those who threatened him w'th tiieir

50 HISTOUY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

rical allusion to " the Maiden," he kissed the fatal instrument, ami
kneeling down, laid his head upon the block. Colonel Sibbald exhibited
a surprising gaiety, and, "with an undaunted behaviour, raarehcd up
to the block, as if he had been to act the part of a gallant in a play."*
An instance of the unfeeling levity with which such melancholy scenes
were witnessed, even by those wlio considered themselves the ministers
of the gospel, occurred on the present as on former occasions. Captain
Spottiswood, grandson of the arclibishop of that name, having on his
knees, said the following ])rayer :^" O Lord, who hath been graciously
pleased to bring me through the wilderness of this world, I trust at this
time you will waft, me over this sea of blood to my heavenly Canaan ;"
was rebuked by a minister who was near hira in the following
words : — " Take tent, (heed) take tent, sir, that you drown not by the
gate !'' (way.) Spottiswood replied with great modesty that " he hoped
he was no Egyptian," an answer which forced the base intruder to retire
among the crowd to conceal his shame.

The execution of Captain Charteris, (the last who suifered) was a
source of melancholy regret to his friends, and of triumph to the minis-
ters. He was a man of a determined mind ; but his health being much
impaired by wounds wliich he had received, he had not firmness to resist
the importunities of his friends, who, as a means of saving his life, as
the}' thought, prevailed upon him to agree to make a public declaration
of his errors. This unhappy man, accordingly, when on tlie scati'old,
read a long speecli, wliich had been prepared for him bj' the ministers,
penned in a peculiarly mournful strain, in which he lamented his apos-
tacy from the covenant, and acknowledged " other things which ho had
vented to them (the ministers) in auricular confessio7i."f Yet, not-
withstanding the expectations which he and his friends were ltd to en-
tertain that his life would be spared, he hud no sooner finished his
speech than he was despatched.

apocrjplial excommuniiations, to which lie gave no more place than our Saviour to tlie
devil's teinptaiioiis.'' — lleiution 01 tlie True F'lmerals of the Great Lord Ivlarquesse ot
Montrose.

• WisharC.

t Wishart, p. 413 —The praciice of auricular confession seems lo have exisltd to a
considerable extern among the covenanters. It is singular that had it not been for the
evidence of the minister of Ormiston, to whom the noted Major W'eir had communicated
his secrets in auricular coufesbion, he would not have been convicted. — See ArtioL*s
Criminal Trials.

/uu^i/t^t^ aU'

CIIAPl'KU ill.

Aniviil of Charles II. — His reception — Preparations of tlie English to invade Scotland
— Cromwell crosses the Tweed — Appearance of the country — Anives at Musselburgh
—Attacks the Scottish army between Edinburgh and I/citli, and repulsed— Purging
of the Scottish army — Cromwell retires to Dunbar— Relujiis to Mus»elbuigh— Aluves
on Colinton — Scots draw up at Corslorphine — Cromwell returns to Musselburgli—
The Dunfermline Declaration- lietreat of Cromwell— Battle of Dunbar— Declara-
tion and Warning of the Kirk— Flight of the king from Perth— His capture— Insur-
reclioiis in the Higlilands — Repressed— Proceedings of Cromwell— Conduct of the
western army — Defeated by Lambert — Preparations of the Scots for a new campaign
— March of Cromwell towards Stirling — Crosses the Foitli et the Queensferry — De-
feat of Holbum — Death of the young chief of JMaclean — Cromwell enters Perth-
Scottish armyinvades England — Followed by Cromwell — Battle of Worcesler — Flight
of the king.

Having arranged vith the commissioners, the comlitioiis on which
he vas to ascend the Scottisli throne, Charles, with about five liundred
attendants, left Holland on the second of June, in some vessels furnished
him by the prince of Orange, and after a boisterous voyage of tliree
weeks, during which he was daily in danger of being captured by Eng-
lish cruizers, arrived in the Moray frith, and disembarked at Garraouth,
a small village at the mouth of the Spey, on the twenty-third of that month.
Before laniling, however, the covenant was presented to him for signa-
ture by John Livingston, a minister,* to which the king readily adhi-
bited his subscription, but which he had no intention of observing
longer than suited his purpose. Looking upon the crowns of England
and Scotland as his own by hereditary right — a right which he had
never forfeited, but from the possession of which the enemies of monar-
chical government were attempting unjustly to exclutle him — he pro-
bably considered that the circumstances in which he was placed justified
him in pursuing the course he did, in order to obtain possession of his
inlieritancc ; yet, as dissimulation is never allowable, it would require
no inconsiderable power of casuistry to palliate sufficiently the conduct
of Charles on this occasion. The parliament certainly had no right to
impose the solemn league and covenant upon him, but having accepted it
without reservation, he was not entitled to disregard it altogether, far less
to allow it, as he afterwards did, to be burnt in London by the hands
of the common executioner.

• Kirkton's Histori of the Church of Scotland, p. 51.

52

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Tlie news of the king's arrival reached Edinburgh on the twoiitj.
sixth of June. The guns of the rastle were fired in honour of the event,
and the inhabitants manifested their joy by bonfires and other demon-
strations of popular feeling. The same enthusiasm spread quielily
throughout the liingdom, and liis majesty was welcomed with warm con-
gratulations as he proceeded on his journey towards Fallcland, which
had been allotted to him by parliament as the place of his residence. The
pleasure lie received from tliese professions of loyalty was, however, not
without alloy, being obliged, at the request of tlie parliament, to dismiss
from his presence some of his best friends, both Scots and English, par-
ticularly the duke of Hamilton, the earl of Lauderdale, and other "en-
gagers," who, by an act passed on the fourth of June against " classed
delinquents," were debarred from returning to the kingdom, or remain-
ing therein, " witliout tlie express warrant of the estates of jiarliament.''*
Of the English exiles the duke of Buckingliani, Lord Wilmot, and seven
gentlemen of the liouseliold were allowed to remain with hira.f In fact,
with these exceptions, every person even suspected of being a " malig-
nant," was carefully excluded from the court, and liis majesty was thus sur-
rounded by the heads of the covenanters and the clergy. These last
scarcely ever left his person, watched his words and motions, and in-
flicteil upon him long harangues, in which he was often reminded of the
misfortunes of liis family.

The rulers of the English commonwealth, aware of the negotiations
wliich had been going on between the young king and the Scots com-
missioners in Holland, became apprehensive of their own stability,
should a union take place between the covenanters and the English
presbyterians, to support the cause of the king, and they therefore re-
solved to invade Scotland, and by reducing it to their authority extin-
guish for ever the hopes of the king and his party. Fairilix was appointed
commander-in-chief, and Cromwell lieutenant-general of the army des-
tined for this purpose ; but as Fairlax considered the invasion of Scot-
land as a violation of the solemn league and covenant which he had sworn
to observe, lie refused, notwithstanding the most urgent entreaties, to
accept the command, which was in consequence devolved upon Crom-
well.

The preparations making in England for the invasion of Scotland,
were met with corresponding activity in Scotland, the parliament of
which ordered an army of thirty thousand men to be immediately raised
to maintain the independence of the country. The nominal command
of this army was given to the earl of Lcven, w ho had become old and
iiifirm ; but David Leslie his relative, was tn reality the commander.
The levies went on with considerable rapidity, but before they were as-
sembled Cromwell crossed the Tweed on the twenty-second day of July
at the head of sixteen thousand well appointed and high disciplined

t n.i

IWASIOS OB SCOTLAND BY CROMWELL. 53

troops. On his march from Berwick to Musselburgh a scene of desola-
tion was presented to the eyes of Cromwell, far surjjassing any thing lie
had ever before witnessed. With the exception of a few old women ami
children, not a human being was to be seen, and the whole country ap-
peared as one great waste over which the hand of the ruthless destroye.
had exercised its ravages. To understand the cause of this it is neces-
sary to mention, that, with the view of depriving the enemy of provisions,
instructions had been issued to lay waste the country between Berwick
and the capital ; to remove or destroy the cattle and provisions, and
tliat the inhabitants should retire to other parts of tlie kingdom under
the severest penalties. To induce them to comply witli this ferocious
command, appalling statements of the cruelties of Cromwell in Ireland
were industriously circulated among the people, and that he had given
orders to put all the males between sixteen and sixty to death, to cut
off the right hands of all the boys between six and sixteen, and to bore
the breasts of all females of age for bearing children, with red-hot irons.*
Fortunately for his army Cromwell had provided a fleet in case of
exigency, which followed his course along the coast, and supplied him
with provisions.

Tlie English general continued his course along the coast till he ar-
rived at Musselburgh, where he established his head-quarters. Here
he learnt that the Scots army, consisting of upwards of thirty thousand
men, had taken up a strong position between Edinburgh and Leith, and
had made a deep entrenchment in front of their lines, along which they
had erected several batteries. Cromwell reconnoitered this position,
and tried all his art to induce the Scots to come to a general engage-
ment ; but as Leslie's plan was to act on the defensive, and thus force
Cromwell either to attack him at a considerable disadvantage, or to re-
treat back into England after his supply of provisions should be ex-
hausted, he kept his army within tlieir entrenchments.

As Cromwell perceived that he would be soon reduced to the alter-
native of attacking the Scots in their position, or of retracing his steps
tiirough the ruined track over which his army had lately passed, he
resolved upon an assault, and fixed Monday the twenty-ninth day of
July for advancing on the enemy. By a singular coincidence, the king, at
the instigation of the earl of Eglinton, but contrary to the wish of his
council and the commanders, visited the army tliat very day. His pre-
sence was hailed with shouts of enthusiasm by the soldiers, who indulged
in copious libations to the health of their sovereign. Tlie soldiers in
consequence neglected their duty, and great confusion prevailed in the
camp ;-|- but on the approach of Cromwell sufficient order was restored,
and they patiently waited his attack. Having selected the centre of the
enemy's position, near a spot called the Quarry Holes, about halfway
between Edinburgh and Leith, as appearing to him the most favourable

» Whiu-lock, p. 4ei t nalfuur, vol. iv. if. ab.

54

HISTORY OP THE HIUHLAMUS.

point for commencing the operations of the day, Cromwell led forward
his arm}' to the assault ; but after a desperate struggle he was repulsed
with the loss of two of his cannon. The regiment of Lawers particular-
ly distinguished itself on tliis occasion, which not only routed a con-
siderable body of Cromwell's foot, but drove a party of artillery from
the adjoining hill at St Leonard's chapel, where they had jjlanted some
cannon to play on the Scottish position. Under the protection of a large
bodj' of horse the English regained their cannon ; but they lost a con-
siderable number of men and horses from an incessant fire of musketry
kept up by Lawers' men from the hedges and rocks.* Cromwell
renewed the attack on the thirty-first, and would probably have carried
Leslie's position but for a destructive fire from some batteries near
Leith. While skirmishing with the enemy in front of the line, Sir
James Hackett, who should have seconded David Leslie, "received a
great fright," says Balfour, and was so alarmed that he scampered off at
full gallop ; but on the third of August he and Colonel Scott, who appears
also to have acted a cov.ardly part, were exculpated by the committee,
" yet that (continues Balfour) did little to save their honour amongst
honest men, and soldiours of worthe and reputation e."+ Cromwell
retired to Musselburgh in the evening, where he was unexpectedly
attacked by a body of two thousand horse and five hundred foot, com-
manded by iNIajor-General Montgomery, son of the earl of Eglinton, and
Colonel Strachan, which had been despatched at an early part of the day
by a circuitous route to the right, for the pui-pose of falling on Cromwell's
rear. If Balfour is to be credited, this party beat Cromwell " soundlie,"
and would have defeated his whole army if they had had an additional
force of one thousand men ; but an English writer informs us, that the
Scots suffered severely .J According to the first mentioned author the
English had five colonels and five hundred men killed, while the latter
states the loss of the Scots to have been about a hundred men, and a
large number of prisoners. On the following day, Cromwell, probably
finding that he had enough of mouths to consume his provisions, without
the aid of prisoners, offered to exchange all those he had taken the pre-
ceding day, and sent the wounded Scots back to their camp.

These rencounters, notwithstanding the expectations of the ministers,
and the vaunts of the parliamentary committee of their pretended suc-
cesses, inspired some of Leslie's officers with a salutary dread of the
prowess of Cromwell's veterans. An amusing instance of this feeling is
related by Balfour in the case of the earl of W. (he suppresses the name)
who " beinng commandit the nixt day (the day after the last mentioned
skirmish) in the morning, to niarche out one a partey, saw he could not
goe one upone service untill he had his brackefaste. The brackefa-te
was delayed above 4 hours in getting until the L. General being privily
advertissed by a secrett frind, that my Lord was peaceably myndit that

Balfour, vol. iv., p.

MOVEMENTS OF CROMWEI.I,. S'j

morning, sent him cxprcsse orders not to niarche, to save his reputation
One tliis, tlie gallants of the arniey raisseii a proverbe, ' Tiiat tlwy
wold not goe out one a parley until they gate ther braekelaste." "*

For several days Cromwell remained inactive in his camp, during
which the parliamentary committee subjected the Scots army to a purg-
ing operation, which impaired its efficiency, and, perhaps, contributed
chiefly to its ruin. As the Solemn League and Covenant was considered
by the covenanters as a sacred pledge to God, which no true Christian
could refuse to take, they looked upon those who declined to subscribe
it as the enemies of religion, with whom it would be criminal in the
eye of Heaven to associate. This principle had been acted upon when
the duke of Hamilton invaded England, and had led to the utter de-
struction of his army ; but such an instructive lesson was thrown away
upon the enthusiasts who usurped the direction of affairs in Scotland at
this time, and, accordingly, the ministers preached incessantly against
the sinfulness of allowing malignants and the enemies of the covenant to
remain in the array, and they denounced the judgments of God upon
the land and army if such men were sufi'ered to remain among them.
A committee of parliament had been appointed for purging the army,
which now entered upon its task; but before the purgation commenced,
the king received a hint, equivalent to a connnand, from the heads of
the covenanters to retire to Dunfermline, an order which he obeyed
"sore against his own mind," fby taking his departure on Friday the
second of August, after spending the short space of two hours at a ban-
quet, which had been provided for him by the city of Edinburgh. No
sooner had the king departed than the purging process was commenced,
and on the second, third, and fifth days of August, during which the
committee held their sittings, no less than eighty officers, all men of
unquestionable loyalty, besides a considerable number of common sol-
diers, were expelled from the army. J

In the meantime Cromwell's army began to be in lack of provisions,
but it was immediately supplied by some English vessels which ar-
rived at Dunbar, whither Cromwell retired with his army on the fifth
of August. Here he found the few inhabitants who had remained in
the town in a state of starvation. Touched with commiseration, he
generously distributed among them, on his supplies being landed, a
considerable quantity of wheat and pease.§

While the ministers were thanking God " for sending the sectarian
army (tor so they designated the independents) back the way they came,
and flinging such a terrror into their hearts, as made them Hy when none
pursued,"!] Cromwell suddenly re-appeared at Musselburgh, and thus
put an end to their thanksgivings

Seeing no hopes of the Scots army leaving its entrenchments, ami

• n.ilfour, vol.iv., p. 87. + li^Ifoiii'.

liMllVur vc . iv.. p. 8Q. ! Whilul.uk. || Ibid. p. <S3.

56 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

afraid tlmt farther delay might be injurious to him, Cromwell made a
movement on the tliirteenth of August to the west, as far as the village ol
Colinton, three miles south-west from Edinburgh, where he posted the
main body of his army. The Scottish General thinking that Cromwell
had an intention of attacking him in his rear, raised his camp and marched
towards Corstorphinp, about two miles north from Colinton, where he
drew out his army. Botli armies surveyed each other for several days,
but neither attempted to bring the other to action. As he could not,
from the nature of the ground whicli laj' between the two armies, attack
his opponents with any probability of success, Cromwell again returned
to Musselburgh with his army on a Sunday, that he might not be
harassed in his march by the covenanters, who never fouglit but on
the defensive on that iIslj.

Although the king before his landing had subscribed the Solemn
League and Covenant, and although they had purged the army to their
heart's content, still Argyle and his party were not satisfied, and they,
therefore, required his majesty to subscribe a declaration " for the satis-
faction of all honest men," to the effect after-mentioned. A copy of the
proposed declaration had been put into the king's hands by the marquis
of Argyle on his departure from the army, and on the ninth of August,
commissioners from the committees of the army and the kirk arrived
at Dunfermline to require his subscription to the declaration ; but as
the declaration contained several things offensive to his feelings, ho
absolutely refused to sign it.

The commissioners having returned to Edinburgh and reported pro-
gress, the commission of the general assembly met in the west kirk on the
thirteenth of August, and drew up a declaration, setting forth that as there
might be just ground of stumbling, on account of his majesty's refusal to
subscribe the declaration offered to him, and considering his former car-
riage and resolutions for the future in reference to the cause of God, and
the enemies and friends thereof, they therefore declared that the kirk and
kingdom ought not to own nor espouse any malignant parties' quarrel or
interest ; but that they fought merely upon their former grounds and
principles, and in defence of the cause of God and of the kingdom, as
they had done for the last twelve years ; and tlierefore they disclaimed
all the sin and the guilt of the king, and of his house, and declared that
they would not acknowledge him or his interest in any way, but in
subordination to God, and that in so far as he aimed and prosecuted the
cause of God, and disclaimed his and his father's opposition to the
cause of God and to the covenant, and likewise all the enemies thereof,
and that they would witli convenient speed take into consideration the
papers lately sent to them by Oliver Cromwell, and vindicate them-
selves from all the falsehoods therein contained, especially in those things
ill which the quarrel betwixt them and the sectarian party was misstated
as if llicy owned the late king's proceedings.

This extraordinary declaration having received the ajiprobafion of llie

THE DUNFERMLINE DECLARATION. 57

committee ot estates, was forwarded to the king, but before its arrival
lie had held a council at Dunfermline to consult upon the propriety ol
subscribing the declaration. Among those present were Argyle, Lothian,
Eglinton, Tweeddale, and Lorn, who advised liis majesty to sign the
ungracious document, which they considered necessary to counteract
tlie insidious and unjust accusations of Cromwell, who had openlj'
charged the leading Presbyterians with the odious crime of aiding and
abetting the cause of the raalignauts. His majesty yielded to this
advice ; but before putting his name to it he sent for two of the leading
ministers (Dickson and Gillespie) to endeavour to obtain from them
some modification in the language used respecting his father. After
considerable altercation, some alterations agreeable to his majesty were
admitted. With tears in his eyes he subscribed the declaration on the
sixteenth of August, and the other declaration of the commission of the
kirk was in consequence rescinded.

The "Heads of the Declaration" which his majesty subscribed, were
to this effect : —

That though his majesty, as a dutiful son, was obliged to honour the
memory of his royal father, and to have in estimation the person of his
mother, j'lt he desired to be deeply humbled and afflicted in spirit
before God because of his father's opposition to the work of God, and to
the Solemn League and Covenant, by which so much of the blood of
the Lord's people had been shed in these kingdoms, and for the idolatry
of his mother, the toleration whereof in the king's house, as it was
matter of great humbling to all the Protestant churches, so could it not
bo but a Iiigh provocation against him who is a jealous God, visiting the
sins of tlie fathers upon the children. That he had not subscribed the
covenant from any sinister intention and crooked design, but sincerely,
and that he would have no friends or enemies but those of the covenant,
requiring all to lay down their enmity against the cause and people of
God — that the treaty he had made with the Irish should be void — ^that
no merchants following their business should be interrupted on the seas
by the commissions wliich he had issued ; and though he desired to
construe favourably the intentions of those (in reference to him) that
opposed the covenant, yet he would not give a commission to any such
until they took the covenant, and gave evidence of their integrity, &c.

That he would satisfy the desires of his good English and Irish
subjects, and if the parliament of England, sitting in freedom, should
require him to accede to the propositions of the two kingdoms, he would
not only adopt them without alteration, but do what was necessary for
prosecuting the ends of tlie covenant, especially in reforming the
rhurch of England according to the standard of the Westminster di-
vines, that the church of England so reformed might enjoy full liberty
and freedom ; that he would consent to pass an act of oblivion in favour
of all persons laying down their arms, except the chief obstructers of
the work of reformation, aud the authors of the change of government.

58 HISTORY OP THE HIGHLANDS.

and tiie murderers of his roj'al father, as they should be selected bv thfl
houses of parliament. And as " the sectaries" had invaded Sco land,
liis majesty desired and expected that the well-affected in Engiaiul
would seize the opportunity to promote the covenant, and establish (lie
ancient government, <S.c.*

Although every sober and judicious person must have perceived that
there was little probability that such a declaration would be regarded
bj' the young monarch ^^ hen released from liis trammels, yet so greatly
important was his majesty's subscription to the instrument considered
bj- the covenanters, that they hailed it with the most lively emotions of
joj' and gratitude ; and the ministers who, only two days before, had de-
nounced the king from the pulpits as the root of malignancy, and a hy-
pocrite, who had shown, by his refusal to sign the declaration, that he
had no intention to Icecp the covenant, were the first to set the exampli .
The army, excited bj' the harangues of the ministers during a fast,
which they proclaimed to appease the anger of heaven for the sins of
the king and his father, longed to meet the enemy, and it required a!i
the influence and authority of General Leslie to restrain them from
leaving their lines and rushing upon the " sectaries ;" but, unfortunately
for the covenanters, their wish was soon to be gratified.

It does not appear that the chiefs of the covenanters were actuated
by the same enthusiasm as the ministers and the common soldiers, or
that the generals of the army were very sanguine of success. Tliey
were too well aware of the composition of Cromwell's veteran host, to
suppose that their raw and undisciplined levies, though numerically su-
perior, could meet the enemy in the open field ; and hence they deemed
it a wise course of policy to act on the defensive, and to harass them
by a desultory warfare as occasion ofl^ered. This sjstem had been so
successfiil as to embarrass Cromwell greatly, and to leave him no alter-
native but a retreat into England, a resolution which he was obliged to
ado]it more speedily, perhaps, than he would otherwise have done in
consequence of extensive sickness in his army. No indications of any
movement had appeared up to the twenty-ninth of August, as on that
day the committee of estates adjourned the meeting of parliament, which
was to have then assembled, till the tenth day of September, " in respecte
that Oliver Cromwell and his armey of sectaries and 'olasphemers have
invadit this kingdome, and are now laying within the bosoine thereof."!

On the following day, however, Cromwell collected his army at INIus-
selburgh, and having put all his sick on board his fleet, which lay in the
adjoining bay, he ga"e orders to his army to march next morning to
Haddington, and thence to Dunbar. He made an attempt to obtain
the consent of the committee of estates to retire without molestation,
promising never again to intcrt'eie in the affairs of Scotland ; but they

• 13..irour, ?ol. iv. p. 92. t lUif. v>.l Iv. [i. i,li.

BATTLE OF DUVBAH. 50

refused to agree to his pioposal, as they considered that they would be
able to cut off Ids retreat and compel him to surrender at discretion.

Next morning, being the thirty-first of August, Cromwell's army was
in full retreat towards Hadtlington. The Scots army followed in close
pursuit, but with the exception of some slight skirmishing between the
advanced guard of the Scots and Cromwell's rear, nothing important took
place. Cromwell halted during the night at Haddington, and offered bat-
tle next day ; but as the Scots declined, he continued his retreat to Dun-
bar, which he reached in the evening. With the intention of cutting
off his retreat, Leslie drew off his army to tlie south towards the heights
of Lammermuir, and took up a position on Doon liill. Having at tlie
same time secured an important pass called tlie Peatlis, through which
Cromwell had necessarily to pass on his way to Berwick, tlie situation
of Cromwell became extremely critical, as he had no (chance of escape
but by cutting his way through the Scots army, which had now com-
pletely placed itself on his line of retreat. Cromwell perceived the
danger of his situation, but he was too mueh of an enthusiast to give
way to despair ; he deliberately, and witliin view of the enemy, shipped
off the remainder of his sick at Dunbar, on the second of September,
ijitending, should providence not directly interpose in his behalf, to put
his foot also on board, and at the head of his cavalry to cut his way
through the Scots army.* But as, in an affair of such importance, no-
thing could be done without prayer, he directed Ids men to " seek the
Lord for a way of deliverance and salvation."f A part of the day was
accordingly spent in prayer, and at the conclusion, Cromwell declared,
that while he prayed he felt an enlargement of heart and a buoy-
ancy of spirit which assured him that God had hearkened to their
prayers.J

While Cromwell and his men were employed in their devotional
exercises, a council of war was held by the Scottish commander to deli-
berate upon the course to be pursued in the present crisis. As Leslie
considered himself perfectly secure in his position, which could not be
assailed by the enemy without evident risk of a defeat, and as he was
apprehensive of a most formidable and desperate resistance should he
venture to attack the brave and enthusiastic independents, who were
drawn out within two miles of his camp ; he gave as his opinion that tho
Scottish army should not only remain in its position, but that Cromwell
•ihould be allowed to retire into England on certain easy conditions
Tlie officers of the army concurred in the views of the general, but this
opinion was overruled by the committees of the estates and kirk, who,
anxious to secure their prey, lest by any possibility it might escape,
insisted that the army should descend from the heights and attack the
" army of sectaries and blasphemers," which they fully expected tlie

• i;;iifoui, vol. iv. p. 97. t Cromwelliana, p. 1*9.

t Burnet's own Time*, v.uU i; p. 51.

60 HISTORY or the highlands.

Lord would deliver into their hands ; au event which tlicy pronably
looked for with the greater confidence from a meteor having been ob-
served, on the night of tlic thirtieth of August, coming out of the nortii
and proceeding in a soutli-easterly dn-ection, which appeared to tlio
imagination of those who witnessed it, in the shape of " a fiery-forked
sword,"* an appearance which was doubtless looked upon by the cove-
nanters as a favoui'able omen.

- In pursuance of tlie orders of the committees to attack Cromwell
early the following morning, Leslie drew down his men on the
evening of the second of September from the heiglits which they
occupied to the level ground below, that he might be the sooner ready
to commence the attack before the enemy should be fully on their
guard. But nothing could escape the penetrating ej'e of Cromwell,
who, tliough pondering with solicitude upon the difficulties of his si-
tuation, was not inattentive to the enemy, whose motions he personally
watched with the utmost vigilance and assiduity. During the evening
in question he perambulated the gardens adjoining Broxmouth-house,
a seat of the earl of Roxburgh, near Dunbar, surveying the Scottish
array, but could observe no indications of any movement. He was
about retiring for the night, when looking through his glass for
the last time that evening, he perceived, to his infinite joy, the
Scottish army in motion down the Iiill. The object of this movement at
once occurred to liim, and in a rapture of entluisiasni he exclaimed,
" they are coming down, the Lord hath delivered them into our hands."
The same feeling was communicated by Cromwell to his soldiers, to
whom, it is related, he gave an assurance that a supernatural voice had
informed him that he would obtain a victory .-)■ A strong spirit of re-
ligious enthusiasm had in fact seized both armies, and each considered
itself tlie peculiar fa\ ourite of heaven.

Unfortunately for the Scots their movements were considerablj' im-
peded by the state of the weath<'r, which, during the night, became very
rainy and tempestuous, and, whether from accident or design, their
matches were suftlrcd to be extinguished by the rain. Confident in
their numbers, they seem to have disregarded tlie ordinary rules of mili-
tary prudence, and such was the slowness of their movements, that they
found themselves unexpectedly attacked at the dawn of day before the
last of their forces had left the hill where they had been stationed.
Cromwell had, during the night, advanced his army to the edge of a
deep ravine which had hitherto separated the advanced posts of lioth
parties, along wliieh his troops reposed waiting in deep silence the order
for attack. As soon as Cromwell was enabled by tlie approacli of day
to obtain a partial view of the position selected by the Scots, he per-
ceived that tlie Scottisli general had posted a large body of cavalry on

• Balfour, vol. iv. p. !)1.
t Siigrcdo. Kcliilioii lo tlic Vci!Cli:iii Senate.

BATTLE OF DUNBAH. 61

his nglit Wing near to a ])ass on the road from Dunbar to BerwicK, with
the evident intention of preventing tlio English from effecting an escape.
To this point, therefore, Cronnvell directed Ids attack with the main
botly of Ids liorse, and some regiments of foot, witli wldeh he endeavoured
to obtain possession of tlie pass ; but they were charged by the Scottish
lancers, who, aided by some artillery, drove them down the hill. Crom-
well, thereupon, brought up a reserve of horse and foot and renewed the
attack, but was again repulsed. He still persevered, however, and the
cavalry were again giving way, when just as tlie sun was emerging from
the ocean, and beginning, through the mist of the morning, to dart its
raj's upon the armour of the embattled hosts, he exclaimed with impas-
sioned fervour in the sublime language of the psalmist, — " Let God arise,
let his enemies be scattered." In a moment Cromwell's own regiment
of foot, to whom his exclamation had been more particularly addressed,
advanced with their pikes levelled, the cavalrj' rallied, and the Scottish
horse, as if seized with a panic, turned their backs and fled, producing
the utmost confusion among the foot, who were posted in their rear.

As soon as the Scots perceived the defeat and flight of their cavalry,
they were seized with a feeling of consternation, and throwing away
their arms, sought their safety in flight. They were closely pursued by
Cromwell's dragoons, who followed them to the distance of many miles
In the direction of Edinburgh, and cut them down without mercy. Out
of a force of twenty-seven thousand men, who, a few hours before, had
assured themselves of victory, not more than fourteen thousand escaped.
Three thousand of the Scots lay lifeless corpses on the tertile plains of
East Lothian, and about ten thousand were taken prisoners, of whom
not less than five thousand one hundred were wounded.* All the am-
munition, artillery, and baggage of the Scots' army fell into the hands
of the conquerors. The loss on the side of Cromwell was trifling, not
amounting to more than thirty men killed. The battle of Dunbar took
place on the third of September, sixteen hundred and fifty, and was
long familiarly known among the Scots by the name of " the Tyesday's
chase."

Cromwell spent the following day at Dunbar writing despatches to the
parliament. He ordered all the wounded to be taken particular care of,
and after their wounds were dressed they were released on their parole.
The remainder of the prisoners were sent to England, where about two
thousand of them died of a pestilential disease, and the rest were sold as
slaves, and sent to the English plantations in the West Indies. Crom-
well, of course, now abandoned his intention of returning to England.
In furtherance of his design to subject Scotland to his authority, he
inarched to Edinburgh, ■which he entered without opposition.

In the meantime, the Scottish horse and the few foot which had
escaped from the slaughter of Dunbar were collected together at Stir-

• \Vhiltlock, p. 471.

62 KrsraRY of th-e hiqhlands.

lii'.g. Here the Commissioners of the General Assembly held a meeting

on the twelfth of September, at which they drew up a " declaration and
warning to all the congregations of the kirk of Scotland," exhorting
the people to bear the recent disaster with becoming fortitude, and to
humble themselves before God that he might turn away liis anger from
them. And they ordained a " solenie publicke humiliatione upone the
defait of the armey," to be kept throughout the kingdom, for which they
assigned thirteen causes, viz. the continued ignorance and profanenesj
of the land; the manifest provocations of the king's house; the importa-
tion by the king of " a great many malignants ;" not purging his family
" from malignant and profane men ;" leaving a most malignant and pro-
fane guard of horse about the king ; not purging the judicatories and
armies " from malignant and scandalous persons ;" the exceeding great
diffidence of some of the chief leaders of the army, and others, who
thought tliat they could not be saved but by a numerous army; the
looseness, insolence, and oppression of many in the army ; and the little
care taken to preserve the corn ; great unthankfulness for former mercies
and deliverances ; attending to the king's interest " without subordina-
tion to religion," &c. ; the carnal selfishness and crooked ways of sundry
in the judicatories and armies, making no difference between those who
feared God, and those who did not fear him, in the public appointments
and the exceeding great negligence, " in great ones and many others."
in performing family worship.*

It is probable that this " declaration and warning" had little effect
upon the minds of the people, whose enthusiasm had been somewhat
cooled by Cromwell's success, and although they did not, perhaps, like
their unfortunate countrymen, who were taken captives on the third of
September and sent into England, curse the king and clergy for insnar-
ing them in misery, as Whitelock observes, they could not but look up-
on the perpetual meddling of the ministers with the affairs of tlie State,
as the real source of all the calamities which had recently befallen the
country. As to the king he had become so thoroughly disgusted witli
the conduct of the Argyle faction, whose sole object seemed to be to
use him as a tool for their own purposes, that he regarded the recent
defeat of the covenanters in the light of a triumph to his cause, which,
by destroying the power of Argyle, would pave tlie w.iy for the due
exercise of the royal authority.

The king now entertained the idea of forming a part}' for himself
among the numerous royalists in the Higldands, for which purpose he
opened up a correspondence with Huntly, Moray, and Athole, and other
chiefs ; but before matters were fully concocted, the negotiation was dis-
closed to Argyle, who took immediate means to defeat it. Accordingly,
on the twenty-seventh of September, the committee of estates ordered
the whole cavaliers wlio still remained about the king's person, with the

• Hal four, vi.l. iv. pp. 99—107.

" THE START." G3

exception of tliree, to quit the court witliin twenty-four hours, and tho
kingdom in twenty days. As 13uckint;Iiani was excepted, and as lie was
known to Iiave disapproved of the king's design, it has been supposed,
witli some re.ison, that he was the person who had made the secret
known to Argyle. Sir James Balfour, the Lord Lyon, was intrusted with
the execntion of this " acte for purging the king's housse,'' as he terms
the order of the committee of estates, and he repaired therewith to Perth
where the king then resided, and where he arrived on the third ol
October. The king desired that nine of the proscribed persons, whose
names he underscored in the roll, should be allowed to remain with him
till the meeting of parliament, but the committee refused to comply with
ids request.

As Charles was to be thus summarily deprived of the society and ad-
vice of his friends, he took the resolution of leaving Perth the following
day, and retiring to the Highlands among iiis friends. Accordingly,
under the pretence of hawking, he left Perth about half past one o'clock
in the afternoon of the fourth of October, accompanied by five of his
livery servants in a plain riding dress. To lull suspicion, be rods
through the South Inch at a slow pace; but as soon as he cleared it, he
set off at full gallop, and ariived at Dudhope in an hour and a half.
From thence he proceeded to Auchter-huuse along with Viscount Dud-
hope, whence he was conveyed by the earl of Buchan and the Viscount
to Cortuquhuy, the seat of the earl of Airly. After partaking of some
refreshment he proceeded the same night up the glen, under the protec-
tion of sixty or eighty highlanders, to a poor cottage, forty-two miles
from Perth, belonging to the laii-d of Clova. Fatigued by such a long
journej', he threw himself down on an old mattress, but he had not- en-
joyed many hours repose when the house was entered, a little before
break of day, by Lieutenant-Colonel Nairne, and Colonel Baynton, an
Englishman, who had been sent by Colonel Montgomery in quest of
him. Shortly after Montgomery himself appeared, accompanied by the
laird of Scotscraig, who had given him information of the place of his
Majesty's retreat, and Sir Alexander Hope bearing one of the king's
hawks. This party advised the king to get on horseback, offered to at-
tend him. and promised to live and die with him if necessary.

Perceiving their intention to carry him back to Perth, the king told
Montgomery that he had left Perth in consequence of information he had
received from Dr Frascr, his physician, that it was the intention of the com-
mittee of estates to have delivered him up to the English, and to hang
all his servants: Montgomery assured his Majisty that the statement was
false, and that no person but a traitor could have invented it. While
this altercation was going on, Dudhope and tlic Highlanders who attended
the king strongly advised him to retire instantly to the mountains, and
they gave him to understand that a force of two thousand horse and five
thousand foot was waiting for him within the distance of five or six miles
ready to execute his orders; but before his Majesty had come to any

64 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

resolution as to the course he should adopt, two regiments of covenant-
ing horse appeared, on observing whom, says Balfour, " Buchan, Dud-
hope and ther begerly guard begane to shecke ther eares, and spealve
more calmley, and in a lower strain." Tlie king thereupon gave his
consent to return to Perth, whither he was accordingly conducted by
Montgomery at the head of liis horse.*

This attempt of the king to escape (lamiliarly known by the name of
" the Start") produced a salutary effect upon tlie committee of estates,
and they now began to treat him with more respect. They saw that he
had grown weary of the state of durance in which they had kept liira, and
they were apprehensive, should they continue to show him tlie same
disrespect they had hitherto done, that he would seize the first favour-
able opportunity of trying another " Start'' in order to place himself at
tlie head of tlie royalists then organizing in the nortli. They, therefore,
for the first time, admitted him to their deliberations, anil the^' even
suspended the act tliey had issued ordering the English cavaliers to
leave the kingdom, in return for which courtesy his majesty expressed
his sorrow that he should have been induced " by tiie wicked counsel
of some men who had deluded him," to leave Perth, and as " lie was
not a very good orator himselfi" the Lord Chancellor, at his request,
explained to the committee in a " long narration," the circumstances o'
his di'parture from Perth, to which "his inajestj' addit that, as he whs a
christian, qulien he went first out, that he had na mind to depairt; and he
trusted in God it wold be a lessone to him all the dayes of his lyft'e." *

As a considerable part of the Highlands was now up in arms to support
the king, the committee induced him to write letters to the chief leaders ol
the insurrection to lay down their arms, which correspondence led to apio-
tiacted negotiation. An act of indemnity was passed on the twelfth of Oc-
tober, in favour of the people of Atliole, who had taken up arms ; but as
it was couched in language which they disliked, and contained conditions
of which they disapproved, the Earl of Athole and his people presented
a petition to his majesty and the committee, craving, (1) that the word
rebellion, should be expunged from the pardon, and that a more favour-
able term should be substituted ; (2) that instead of delivering up one
John Robertson, who had killed a lieutenant belonging to Sir John
Brown's regiment, the friends of the lieutenant should be compelled to
receive an assythment, and that Robertson should be pardoned ; (3) that
the earl should have the keeping of his own house at Blair, on giving
urety for his fidelity. The committee of estates acceded only to the
first of these demands.

In order to enforce the orders of the king to the northern royalists, to
lay down their arms. Sir John Brown's regiment was despatched to the
north ; but they were surprised during the night of the twenty first of
October, and defeated by a party under Sir David Ogil-'y, brother to

• Balfour vol. n. p. 115. . ll.i.l. kiI. Iv. p. 11!).

SUBMISSION OF THE NORXilERN ROYALISTS. 65

Lord Ogilvy. Ou receivii)|f this intelligence, General Leslie hastened
to Perth fi'oni Stirling, and crossed the 'lay on the twenty-fourth of
'October, with a force of tliree thousand cavalry, with which he was or-
dered to procti'il to Dundee and scour Angus. At tliis time General
Middkton w;is lying at Forfar, who, on hearing of Leslie's advance, sent
liini a letter, inclosing a copy of a " bond and oath of engagement" wliicii
had been entered into by Huntly, Atliole, Seaforth, Middleton, and
oilier individuals, by which thej' had pledged themselves to join firmly
and faithfully together, and neither for fear, threatening, allurement, nor
advantage, to relinquish the cause of religion, of the king and of the king-
dom, nor to lay down their arms without a general consent ; and as tlie
best undertakings often did not escape censure and malice, they promised
and swore, for the satisfaction of all reasonable persons, that they would
maintain the true religion, as then established in Scotland, the national
covenant, and the solemn league and covenant ; and defend the person of
the king, his prerogative, greatness, and authority, and the privileges of
parliament, aud the freedom of the subject. Middleton stated that Leslie
would perceive from the terms of the document inclosed, that the only
aim of himself and friends was to unite Scotsmen in defence of their
common rights, aud that the grounds on whicii they had entered into
the association were precisely the same as those professed by Leslie
himself. As the independence of Scotland was at stake, and as Scots-
men should unite for the preservation of their liberties, he proposed to
join Leslie, and to put himself under his command, aud he expressed a hope
that Leslie would not shed the blood of his countrymen, or force them to
the unhappy necessity of shedding the blood of their brethren in self
defence.* The negotiation thus begun was finally concluded on the
fourth of November at Strathbogie, agreeably to a treaty between Leslie
and the chief royalists, by which the latter accepted an indemnity and
laid down their arms.

Cromwell did not follow up his success as might have been expected,
but contented himself with laying siege to the castle of Edinburgh, and
pushing forward his advanced posts as far as Linlithgow. While at
Edinburgh he frequently sermonised his officers in his peculiar strain,
exhorting them to brotherlj' love, to repent from dead works, and to be-
wail the blindness of their Scottish adversaries, and he opened a theological
correspondence with some ministers who had taken refuge in the castle
of Edinburgh after the battle of Dunbar, to whom he communicated his
views of independency ; but he faded in making any proselytes among
these sturdy sons of the kirk, but with all his fondness for theological
controversy, in which he considered himself no ordinary adept, a contro-
versy to him of a much more important character than the contest be-
tween independency and presbytery now presented itself among the
Scots, of which he did not fail to avail himself.

• DHlloilr, vol iv. i>. 123.

66 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLASOS.

Among the leading covenanters both in parliament and the ciiurcli,
tlierc were some whoie political ideas were pretty similar to those of
Cromwell, respecting monarchical government, and who liad not only
approved of the execution of the late king, hut were desirous of exclud-
ing his son from the ciow:i of Scotland. Tl.is party, though a minority,
made up for its numerical inferiority, by tlie talents, fanaticism, and
restless activity of its partisans ; but formidable as their opposition in
parliament was, they found themselves unable effectually to resist the
general wish of the nation in favour of the king, and 3'iclded to the force
of circumstances. By excluding, however, the royalists from the camp,
and keeping the king in a state of subjection to their authority, they had
succeeded in usurping the government, and had the disaster of Dun-
bar not occurred, might have been enabled to carry tlieir designs against
tlie monarchy into etiect ; but notwithstanding this catastrophe, they were
not discouraged, and as soon as they hail recovered from the temporary
state of alarm into which the success of Cromwell had thrown them,
they began to concert measures, in accordance with a plan they now
contemplated, for making themselves altogether independent of parlia-
ment. For this purpose, under the pretence of opposing the common
enemy, they solicited and obtained permission from the committee of
estates to raise forces in the counties of Dumfries, Galloway, Wigton,
Air, and Renfrew, the inhabitants of which were inl)ued with a sterner
spirit of fanaticism, and therefore more ready to support their plans, than
tliose of any other parts of Scotland. By bringing in the exhortations of
Gillespie and others of the more rigid among the ministers to their
aid, they succeeded in a short time in raising a body of nearly five
thousand horse, over which Strachan, Kerr, and two other colonels, ail
mere tools of the party, were placed.

As soon as the leaders of this faction, of whom Johnston of Warris-
ton, the clerk-register, was chief, had collected these levies, they be-
fran to develope the plan they had formed of withdrawing themselves
from the control of the committee of estates by raising a variety of
objections against the line of conduct pursued by the committee, and,
till these were removed, they refused to unite " the western army," as
this new force was called, witii the army under Leslie. Cromwell,
aware of this division in the Scottish army, endeavoured to widen the
breach by opening a correspondence with Strachan, who had fought
under him at Preston, which had this effect that Strachan soon went
liver to the English army with a body of troopers. Leslie complained
to the estates of the refusal of the western forces to join him, and soli-
cited to be recalled from his charge, but they declined to receive his
resignation, and sent a deputation, consisting of Argylc, Cassilis, and
other members to the western army, " to solicit unity for the good of
the kingdom.''* So unsuccessful, however, was the deputation in bring-

DISAFFECTION AND DISPERSION OF THE WESTERN AllMY. 67

iiig about this desired " unity," that, on the seventeenth of October, an
elaborate paper, titled, " the iiunible Remonstrance of the Gentlemen.
Commanders, and Ministers attending the forces in the west," ad-
dressed to the committee of estates, was drawn up and presented by Sir
George Maxwell to them, at Stirling, on the twenty-second. In tliis
document the remonstrants professed to inform the committee " freely and
faithfully concerning the causes and remedies of the Lord's indignation,"
whicli had gone out against his people, among the first of which they
reckoned the backsliding from the covenant, " the great and mother sin of
the nation," as the principal. The chief remedy proposed was to re-
move from the presence of the king, the judicatories and the armies, the
" malignants," whom many of the committee were accused of having
received " into intimate friendsliip,'' admittiuL^ them to their councils,
and bringing in some of tlieni to the parliament and committees, and
about the king, thereby affording " many pregnant presumptions," of
a design on the part of some of the committee of estates, " to set up
and employ the malignant party," or at least, giving " evidences of a
strong inclination to intrust them again in the managing of the work of
God.''* The committee of estates paid no regard to this remonstrance,
a circumstance which gave such umbrage to Warriston and the leaders
of the western army, that they drew up anotlier, couched in still stronger
language, on the thirtieth of October, at Dumfries, whitlier they had
retired with the army on a movement made by Cromwell to the west.
In this fresh remonstrance the faction declared that as it was now ma-
Qjfest that the king was opposed to tlie work of God and the covenants,
and cleaving to the enemies of both, they would not regard him or his
interest in their quarrel with the invaders; that he ought not to be in-
trusted in Scotland with the exercise of liis power till he gave proofis of
a real change in his conduct ; and that an effectual course ought to be
taken for preventing, in time coming, "his conjunction with the malig-
nant party," and for investigating into the cause of his late flight; and
tliat the malignants should be remlered incapable in future of hurting
the work and people of God.f

A petition having been presented to the committee of estates on the
nineteenth of November, requiring a satisfactory answer to the first re-
monstrance, a joint declaration was issued by the king and the com-
mittee on the twenty-fifth, declaring "the said paper, as it related to
the parliament and civil judicatories, to be scandalous and injurious to
Ills majesty's person, and prejudicial to his authority ;" and the com-
mission of the General Assembly having been required to give their
opinion upon the remonstrance, in so far as it related to religion and
churcli judicatories, acknowledged that, although it contained " many
farl truths in relation to the sins charged upon the king, his family, and
the public jutlicatories," which they were "resolved to hold out, and

• B:iIC.iur, vol. iv. p. toiJ. t llii<l, |). l»i.

G3 insToay of the luoirt a.vds.

press upon them in a right and orderly way," together witli such othci
sins as bj- impartial search, and the help of the Lord's Spirit, on theii
endeavours therein, thej' should find, nevertheless, the commission de-
clared itself dissatisfied with tlie remonstrance, whicli it considered " apl
to breed division in kirk and kingdom."* This declaration of the com-
mission was not only approved of by the General Assembly, but wliat was
of equal importance, that venerable body passed a resolution declaring
that in such a peiilous crisis all Scotsmen might be employed to defend
their country. An exception of persons " excommunicated, forfeited,
notoriously profane, or flagitious, and professed enemies and opposers
of the covenant and cause of God,"f was no doubt made, but this
exemption did not exclude all the " malignants." A breach was now
made in the unity of the Scottish church, and the nation was split into
two parties — a division which paved the way for the subjugation of
Scotland to the j'oke of Cromwell. The party which adhered to the
king was distinguished by the name of Resoliitioners, and the other were
denominated Protesters, a distinction which was kept up for several
years.

Nothing could be more gratifying to Cromwell than to see the Scots
thus divided among themselves, and keeping up two distinct armies in the
field, mutually opposed to eacli other. He had by negotiation and intrigue
contributed to increase the irritation between the two parties, and he had
even succeeded in sowing the seeds of dissension among the leaders of
the western array itself. Strachan, his old friend, had resigned the
command which had been conferred on Kerr, who was by no means
hearty in the cause. In this situation of matters Cromwell resolved, in
the meantime, to confine his attention to the operations of the western
ai"my, with the intention, if he succeeded in defeating it, of marching
north with tin- whole of his forces, and attacking the royal army. As
the castle of Edinburgh was still in the hands of the covenanters, Crom-
well could only spare a force of about seven thousand horse, which he
accordingly sent west about the end of November, under Lambert, to
watch Kerr's motions. Intelligence of this movement was received by
the parliament then sitting at Perth, on the thirtieth of November, in
eonsequence of which Colonel Robert Montgomery was despatched w itii
three regiments to support the western army, the command of which
he was requested by the ])arliament to take ; and, to enforce this order,
the committee on military affairs was directed to send a deputation to
the western forces to intimate to them the command of the parliament.
ISefore the arrival, however, of Montgomery, Kerr was defeated on the
first of December, in an attack he made on Lambert at Hamilton, in
which he himself was taken prisoner, and the whole of his forces dis-
persed.* This victory gave Cromwell quiet possession of the whole of

* B.ilfuui, Mil. h. p. 175. t Woiirow Introducl. iii.

t liiillour, vol. iv. p. 193— lUi.

MARCH OF CnOMWELL CROSSES TtlE PRITH OP FORTH 69

Scotland, south of the Clyde and the Forth, with the exception of Stir-
ling, and a small tract around it ; and as the castle of Edinburgh sur-
rendered on the twenty-fourth of December, Stirling castle was the only
fortress of any note, south of the Forth, which remained in the posses-
sion of the royalists at the close of the year.

A considerable time, however, elai)sod before Cromwell found him-
self in a condition to commence his intended campaign beyond the
Forth. His inactivity is to be ascribed partly to an ague with which
lie was seized in February, and which had impaired his health so much
that in May he obtained permission to return to England to recruit his
debilitated constitution ; but a sudden and favourable change having
taken ])lace in the state of his health, he gladly i-emained with the army,
which he put in motion towards Stirling on the third of July, sixteen
hundred and fiftj--one.

The Scottish parliament was fully aware of the impending danger,
and made the necessary preparations to meet it, but the engagers and
the party of Argyle did not always draw together; yet the king
had the address by his accommodating and insinuating behaviour, to
smooth down many differences, and thus prepared the way for that
ascendency which his friends, the Hamiltons, afterwards obtained.
The coronation of the king took place at Scone, on the first of
January, sixteen hundred and fifty-one, in pursuance of an order
of the parliament. His conduct on that occasion added greatly to his
growing popularity. The first trial of strength, to borrow a modern
parliamentary phrase, which took place in the parliament, was on the
twenty-third of December, sixteen hundred and fifty, on the nomination
of colonels to the different horse and foot regiments then in the course
of being raised. A list of them had been submitted to the house on the
twentieth, which contained about an equal number of royalists and co-
venanters. This gave rise to a long debate, but the list was finally ap-
proved of. On the following daj', however, the lord-chancellor (Lou-
don) protested against the nomination, on the ground that some of the
persons appointed had served under Montrose, while others were " en-
gagers." A conference of the house " for removing of jealousies and
prejudices in the business of the nomination of colonels," was in conse-
fpience ordered, and the parliament having met on the twentj'-third,
the house resolved itself into a committee for a conference, and adjourned
for half an hour. The conference, however, came to nothing, and
when the house resumed its sitting a motion was made by the covenant-
ing party that the names of the lords Erskine, Drummond, and Ogilvy
should be struck off the list of colonels, which being put to the vote,
was negatived.*

Among the colonels of foot, were the earls of Athole and Tulliebar-
,line, and the master of Gray for Perth, the lairds of Maclean and Ard-

• IJaM-Miir, Vdl. iv. 11. -ill.

/U IIISTOIIY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

kinlass for Argyle and Bute; the laird of Grant and the sheriff' of Mo-
ray for Nairiu^ Elgin, and " Grant's Lands;" the lairds of Pluscardine,
Balnagowan, the master of Lovat, and the laird of Lunilair, for Inver-
ness and Ross ; Lord Sutherland and Henry Mackay of Skowrie, for
Sutherland and Strathnaver ; the master of Caithness for Caithness ; and
Duncan Macpherson for Badenoch. The clans in the Highlands and
the Isles were to be commanded respectively by Macdonald, the tutor
of Macleod, Clanranald, the tutor of Keppoch, the laird of Lochaber,
the tutor of Maclean, Lochiel, Macneil of Barra, Lauchlane Mackin-
tosh, and the laird of Jura.*

Argyle and his party made several attempts, afterwards, to check the
rising influence of the Hamiltons, by opposing the different plans sub-
mitted to the parliament for rendering the army more efficient, but they
were outvoted. The finisliing blow was given to their hopes by the
appointment of the king to the diief command of the army, and by
the repeal of the " act of classes,'' which excluded the royalists from
having any share in the administration of the affairs of the kingdom,
and from serving their country.

In expectation of Cromwell's advance, the Scots had raised, during
the spring, strong fortifications along the fords of the river Forth, to ob-
struct his passage, and had entrenched themselves at the Torwood, liav-
ing the town of Stirling at their back, in which position Cromwell found
them when he advanced west in July. As he considered it dangerous
to attempt to carry such a strong position in the face of an army of
about twenty thousand men, (for such it is said was the number of
the Scots,) he endeavoured, by marches and countermarches, to draw
them out ; but although they followed his motions, they took care not to
commit themselves, by going too far from their lines of defence. See-
ing no chance of bringing them to a general engagement, Cromwell
adopted the bold plan of crossing the Frith of Forth at Queensferry, and
of throwing himself into the rear of the Scottish army. While, there-
fore, lie continued, by his motions along the Scottish lines, to draw off
the attention of the Scottish commanders from his plan, he, on the twen-
tieth of July, sent over Lambert, with a large division of his army in a
number of boats which had been provided for the occasion. He landed
without opposition and proceeded immediately to fortify himself on the
hill between the North Ferry and Inverkeithing. General Holburn
was immediately despatched with a large force to keep Lambert in
check. The parties encountered each other on the twentieth of July,
and the Scots, though they fought with great bravery, were defeated.
A body of Highlanders particularly distinguished themselves. The loss
of the Scots was considerable ; and among the slain were the young
chief of Maclean and about a hundred of his friends and followers.
TIsis victory opened a free passage to Cromwell to the north of Srot-

1'. 210--2I8.

THE SCOTTtSlI ARMY INVADES ENGLAXD. 7|

and. He immediately, therefore, ci'ossed the Fortli with the remaiiidei
of bis army, and proceeded to Perth, of which lie tooli possession on
the second of August.

Wliile tlie Scottish leaders were puzzled liow to extricate themselves
from the dilemma into which they had been thrown by the sinjrular
change which had lately taken place in the relative position of the
two armies, the king alone seemed free from embarrassment, and at
mice proposed to his generals, that, instead of following Cromwell, or
waiting till he should attack them, they should immediately invade Eng-
land, where he expected to be joined by numerous royalists, who only
required his presence among them at the head of such an army, to de-
clare themselves. Under existing circumstances, the plan, though at
once bold and decisive, was certainly judicious, and, therefore, it is not
surprising that it should have received the approbation of the chiefs o(
the army. Having obtained their concurrence, the king immediately
issued a proclamation on the thirtieth of July, to the army, announcing
his intention of marching for England the following day, accompanied
by such of his subjects as were willing to give proofs of their loyalty by
sharing his fortunes. This appeal was not made in vain, and Charles
found himself next morning in full march on the road to Carlisle, at the
head of eleven, or, as some accounts state, of fourteen thousand men.
Argyle, as was to be expected, excused himself from accompanying the
army, and obtained permission to retire to his castle.+

Altliough Cromwell was within almost a day's march of the Scottish
army, yet, so sudden and unexpected had been its departure, and so se-
cretly had the whole affair been managed, that it was not until the
Iburth of August that he received the extraordinary intelligence of its
departure for England. Cromwell was now as much embarrassed as the
Scottish commanders had lately been, for he had not the most distant
idea, vhen he threw himself so abruptly into their rear, that they would
adopt the bold resolution of marching into England. As soon, however, as
he had reco\ered from the surprise into which such an alarming event had
thrown him, he despatched letters tc the parliament, a.ssuring them of
his intention to follow the Scots army without delay, and exhorting
them not to be discouraged, but to rely on his activity. He also sent
Lambert with a force of three thousand cavalry to harass the rear ol
the Scots army, and forwarded orders to Harrison, who was then at
Newcastle, to press upon their flank with a similar number ; and, in a
few days, he himself crossed the Forth with an army of ten thousand
men and proceeded along thp eastern coa.st, in the direction of York,
leaving Monk behind him with a force of five thousand horse and fool
to complete the reduction of Scotland.

The Scottish army made a rapid march, and arrived in the neighbour-
hood of Warrington on the sixteenth of August. Here Lambert and Harri-
son, who had just met at Warrington, and whose united forces amounted in

tLi:ices!er's Journal, p. 110. \Vi,ilHoi-k, 501. aarcmlnn, vol. iii. p. 397.

72 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

nine thousand men, resolved to dispute the passage of the Mersey, but
the Scottish army had passed the bridge before their arrival. A few
charges ensued, and Lambert and Harrison, in expectation of a general
engagement, drew up their forces on Knutsford-lieath ; but the king
declined batilr, and continued his marcli towards Worcester, which lie
entered on the twenty-second. A n;imber of the country gentlemen
who were confined in that city on account of their loyaltj', welcomed
the king with the warmest congratulations, and he was immediately pro-
claimed by the Mayor with great solemnity, amidst the rejoicings of the
royalists. *

The approach of the Scottish army filled the minds of the English par-
liamentary leaders with dismay, and they at first imagined that a private
arrangement had been made between Cromwell and the king ; but their
apprehensions were soon relieved, by the receipt of Cromwell's despatch-
es, and by a proclamation which the king had issued on entering England,
promising pardon to all nis subjects, with the exception of Cromwell,
Bradshaw, and Cook. As soon as the alarm had subsided, measures,
tlie most active and strong, were adopted by Cromwell's council, to meet
the pressing emergency. They proclaimed the king and his supporters
guilty of higli treason, and t!ie declaration of the king was burned in
London, by the hands of the hangman. All persons suspected of loy-
alty, were either confined, or narrowly watched, and death was declared
to be the penalty of those who should enter into any correspondenea
with the king. Bodies of militia were instantly raised in several coun-
ties, and marched oft' to the aid of the regular forces, f Had these ex-
ertions been met by similar eft'orts on the part of the English royalists,
the cause of the king might have triumphed, but so sudden and unex-
pected had been the arrival of the king, that they were quite unprepared
to receive him, and the measures of the leaders at Westminster were so
prompt and energetic, that they had not sufficient time to collect their
scattered strength, or to concert any combined plan of operations. Yet
notwithstanding these difficulties, a pretty considerable force might have
been drawn together, but for the fanaticism of the Scots, who would not,
contrary to the order of the king, allow any auxiliaries to join them,
v.ho had not taken the covenant.

When Cliarles, therefore, arrived at Worcester, he found that he had
obtained no accession of force on his march, anil he even found that his lit-
tle army had been reduced by desertion. To increase the army he issued
a proclamation, calling upon all his male subjects, between the ages of six-
teen and sixty, to join his standard at a general muster to be held on the
twenty-sixth of August; but little attention was paid to the order, andwhen
the day of muster arrived, he found that his army amounted to about twelve
thousand men only, including about two thousand Englishmen. To at-
tack this force, large bodies of trooi)s were concentrating near Worces-

• Lcicxsier's Journal, 113,114. 'Whilcluik, jfii--3. Clarendon, vul. ui. p. Jl !i.
; luuriuils, Augt. 1?,

BATTLE OF WORCESTER. 73

tcr, and on the twenty -eighth oF August, when Cromwell arrived to
take the command, the army of the republic amounted to upwards of
thirty thousand men, who hailed the presence of their commander with
ra))ture.

The Lord General now perceived that the time had arrived for strik-
iiig a decisive blow; but as the aiiiversary of the battle of Dunbar
was near at hand, he resolved to defer his grand attack till that day, so
fortunate for his arms, and, in the mean time, employed himself in a series
of operations for hemming in the royal army, in the course of which several
brilliant affairs took place with alternate success. At last, on the morn-
ing of the third of September, sixteen hundred and fifty one, just twelve
months after the defeat of the Scots at Dunbar, Cromwell, after remind-
ing his troops of the victory they had achieved on that auspicious day,
put his army in motion. The first movement was made by Fleetwood,
who having advanced from Upton to Powick, proceeded towards the
Team, the passage of which he was ordered to force, and to keep up a
communication with him, Cromwell threw a bridge of boats across the
Severn at Buns hill, near the confiiience of the two rivers. A discharge
of musketry in the direction of Powick about one in the afternoon, when
the king and his staff were observing the position of the enemy from
the tower of the cathedral, was the first intimation they received of
Croniweirs attack. The party immediately descended, and the king at
the head of a party of horse and foot under the command of Montgomery,
flew forward to oppose the advance of Fleetwood's brigade across tne
Team. A fiirious contest took place, but the steadiness and persever-
ance of Fleetwood's men, overcame all oppositition ; yet although tney
effected the passage of the river, and were afterwards aided by four regi-
ments which Cromwell sent to their assistance, the Scots disputed every
inch of ground, and repeatedly charged the enemy witli the pike.

While this sanguinary struggle was going on, Cromwell, after secur-
nig the communication across tlie Severn by the bridge of boats whicn
he threw over it, advanced to Perry-wood and Red-hill, and directed a
fire to be opened from a battery of heavy guns upon a fortification nam-
ed Fort Royal, which had been recently raised to cover the Sidbury
gate of the city. This movement, which isolated the divisions of Fleet
wood and Cromwell from each other by the interposition of the Severn,
seemed to the king a favourable opportunity for attacking that of Crom-
well with success, whilst the other was kept in check on the opposite
bank. He, therefore, immediately drew together the remainder of his
infantry, with which and the Duke of Hamilton's troop of horse, and the
English volunteers, he attacked the division under Cromwell. The king
himself at the head of the Highlanders, wliom he commanded in person,
fought with great bravery : his example animated his troops, who drove
back the enemy's vanguard, consisting of some regiments of militia, and
captured their cannon. Had Leslie come up with his cavalry as was
expected, the defeat of Cromwell would have been inevilal)le, but that
officer from some cause or other, never explained, unfortunately remain-

li HISTORY OF TIIK HIGHLANDS.

cd in the ciry and did not make his appearance till Cromwell, who
brought up a large body of veteran troops which he had placed in re-
i^erve, had repulsed the roj'alists, who, unable to rally, were fleeing in
confusion towards Fort Royal, to seek for protection under its guns.
The fugitives entered the city in great disorder, and the king succeeded
ill rallying them in Friar Street ; but although he tried every mean>
wliich circumstances could admit of, to raise their drooping spirits, he
could not prevail upon tliera to stand firm, and many threw away their
arms and fled. In a fit of despair he exclaimed, " Then shoot me dead
rather than let me live to see the sad consequei.ccs of this daj'.''

In the mean time Fleetwood, after dispersing the division opposed to
him, took St Johns, and Cromwell afterwards carried Fort Royal by storm,
and put its defenders to the sword. The utmost confusion now prevailed in
the city, which was still farther increased by the entrance of Cromwell's
troop?, who poured into it by the quay, the castle hill, Mid the Sidbury
gate. The situation of the king became critical in the extreme, and
his friends advised him to provide immediately for his owa safety, as no
time was to be lost; he, therefore, instantly threw himself among the Scot-
tish cavalry, and whilst, tlius surrounded, he was effecting his escape by
the gate of St Martin's to the north, the Earl of Cleveland, Sir James
Hamilton, Colonel Careless, and a few other devoted adherents at the
head of some determined troopers, charged the enemy in their advance
in the contrary direction up Sidbury Street, and checked them effectu-
ally till the king was out of danger. *

This battle, whicli Cromwell admits " was as stiff a contest for four or
five hours as ever he had seen," f was very disastrous to the royalists,
three thousand of whom were killed on the spot, and a considerably lar-
ger number taken prisoners, and even the greater part of the cavalry,
who escaped from the city, were afterwards taken by detachments of the
enemy. The duke of Hamilton was mortally wounded in the field of
battle, and the carls of Derby, Lauderdale, Rothes, Cleveland and Kel-
ly ; t!ie lords Sinclair, Kenniure and Grandison, and the generals Les-
lie, Middleton, Massey and Montgomery, were successively made prison-
ers after the battle. When the king considered himself free from imme-
diate danger, ho separated, during the darkness of the night, from the
body of cavalry which surrounded him, and with a party of sixty horse
proceeded to Whiteladips, a house belonging to one Ciffard a recusant
and royalist, at which he arrived at an early hour in the morning,
after a ride of twenty five miles. Here commenced, on the same day,
I he first of those extraordinary adventures which beful the king, ac-
companied by a soiiosof the most singular hair-breadth escapes, as
related by the histoiians of the period, between the third of September
and the seventeenth of October, the day on which he landed in safety
at Fecamp in Normandy.

* Boscobel, p. 10, 14, 22. Wliitcloitk, p. 507, 8. Bales, part ii. p 221. Par. Hist, vol
»x. p 40, 44—55 Ludlow, vol. i. p. 314. LiiiKaid. vol. vii. p. 61.
I I'arlt. Ilisl. vol. xx. p. 44.

CHAPTER IV.

0|n-iatioiis of Jluiik in ScolhiiH!— Storming of Dundee— Treaty with the Marquis ol
Diinllynnd Lord Bulrarras — Fruitless expeditions into the Higlilands — Adminislm-
tion of affairs under Monk — Insuneelion in the Highlands, under the Earl of Glen-
i-uini— Defeat of Colonel Kidd— Retreat of Glencairn to Abernethy forest — Defection
of Lord Lorn — Pursued by Glengarry — Glencairn joined by Colonel Wo^an — Marches
to Elgin— Landing of Middleton in Sutherland— Joined by Glencairn— Muster of the
army at Dornoch — Disputes among the royalists — Defection of Glencairn — Arrival
of Monk— Deftat of Middleton— intrigues of Cromwell and Mazarine— Doubtful
P'dicy fff Monk — Negotiation between him and Charles IL — Restoration of Charles —
Trial and cxecu ion of the INI.irquis of Argyle— Feud between the Earl of Argyle and
the Macleans — Argyle invades Mull — Submission of the Macleans — They refuse tc
pay the sums pi-omised — Supported by other elans — Ineffectual attempt to invade IMull
a second time — Dispute referred to the privy council — The Highland host in the west
— Trial and condemnation of the Earl of Argyle— He escapes — His expedition into
Si-otland — Apprehension and execution.

While Cromwell was following the king tliiough Etiglaml, Monk pro-
ccciled to complete the subjugation of Scotland. He first laid siege to
Stirling castle, into which he threw shells from batteries he had raised,
the explosion of which so alarmed the Highlanders who composed the
garrison, that they forced the governor to surrender. All the records
of the kingdom, the royal robes, and part of the regalia, which had been
locked up in the castle as a place of perfect security, fell into the hands
of the captors, and were sent by Monk to Kngland. He next proceed-
ed to Dundee, which was strongly fortified, and well garrisoned, and
contained within it an immense quantity of costly furniture and plate,
besides a large sum of monej', all of which had been lodged in the town
for safety. After arriving in the neighbourhood of Dundee, information
was brought to him that the committees of estates and the kirk were sit-
ting at Ellet in Angus. Monk, thereupon, despatched five hundred horse
under the command of Colonels Alured and Morgan, who entered Ellet
at four o'clock in the morning of Thursday the twenty eighth of August,
and surprised the whole party and made them prisoners, along with
several gentlemen of the neighbourhood. Among those taken were old
Leslie Earl of Leven, the Earl of Crawford, the Earl Marshall, Lord
Jauies Oglivy, Sirs Adam Hepburn and James Foulis, the Lairds of Or-
miston and Pourie, and eight ministers, all of whom were shipped at
Broughty and sent prisoners to England. * It is said that one Buchan
who held the commission of " scout-master" in the Scottish army, con-
ducted the English cavalry to Ellet by a private road, to preveut their
approach being discovered.f

• Biufaur, vol. iv. p. 314 15. i Gordoi.'s Cuntinualion, p. i(iO.

76 HISTORY OF Till; HIGHLANDS.

When the necessary preparations for an assault had been coniplctet!,
Monk sent a summons to Lumsden, the governor of Dundee, to sur-
render, but he rejected it with disdain. The obstinaey of Lumsden ex-
asperated Monk, wlio ordered his troops to storm the town, and to put
tlie garrison and all the inhabitants, without regard to age or sex, to the
sword. The town was accordingly carried by assault on the first of
September, and was followed by all the horrors which an infuriated sol-
diery could inflict upon a defenceless population. The townsmen gave
no aid to the garrison, and when the republican troops entered the town,
they found the greater part of them lying drunk in the streets. The
carnage was stayed, but not until eight hundred males, including the
greater part of the garrison, and about two hundred women and children,
were killed. Among the slain, was Lumsden the governor, who although
he had quarter given him by Captain Kelly, was nevertheless shot dead
by Major Butler as Kellj' was conducting him along the street to Monk.
Besides the immense booty which was in the town, about sixty shi])s
which were in the harbour of Dundee with their cargoes, fell into the
hands of the English. *

The capture of Dundee was immediately followed by the voluntaiy
surrender of St Andrews, Montrose and Aberdeen. Some of the com-
mittee of estates who had been absent from Ellet, held a meeting at
Inver'.ry, to deliberate on the state of matters, at which the Marquis of
Huiitly presided, and at which a motion was made, to invest him with
full authority, to act in the absence of the king : but the meeting broke
up on hearing of Monk's approach. The committee retired across the
Spey, but Huntly went to Strathdon along with his forces. Monk did not
proceed farther north than Aberdeen at this time.

The Marquis of Argyle, -who had given great oiTence to Cromwell,
by his double dealing, seeing now no chance of opposing successfully
the republican arms, made an attempt at negotiation, and sent a letter
by a trumpeter to Monk, proposing a meeting at some convenient place,
" as a means to stop the shedding of more Christian blood." The only
answer which Monk gave to the messenger, who arrived at Dundee on
the nineteenth of October, was, that he could not treat without orders
from the parliament of England. This refusal on the part of Monk to
negotiate, was a sore disappointment to Argyle, as it disappointed the
hopes he entertained of getting the English government to acknowledge
a debt which he claimed from them, f

Monk now turned his whole attention to the state of matters in the
North, where some forces were still on foot, under the respective com-
mands of the marquis of Huntly, and lord Balcarras. With the former
he concluded an agreement on the twenty first of November, under
which Huntly consented to disband his men ; and on the third of De-
cember, a similar treaty was entered into between Balcarras and Colo-
• Balfimr, vol. !v. p. 315. Echard, 698.
t Htath,.304, 308, 310,313 WhiUlock, 5U,ri3t> 513.

FRUITLESS EXrKPITION INTO THE HIGn LANDS. 77

iiels Overton and Lilburn. Shortly after the English army cro^isfil the
Spey and entered Inverness, where they planted a garrison ; so that be-
fore tiie end of the year, the whole of the Lowlands and a part of the
Highlands had submitted to the arms of the republic. * To complete
the destruction of the independence of Scotland, a destruction aceom-
plished less by the power of lier enemy, than by the perversity of her
sons, and to reduce it to a province of England, the English army was
augmented to twenty thousand men, and citadels erected in several
towns, and a long chain of military stations drawn across the country
to curb the inhabitants. All the crown lands were declared public
property by the English parliament, and the estates of all persons who
had joined in tlie English invasions, under the king and the duke of
Hamilton, were confiscated by the same authority. An exception was,
however, made in favour of those engaged in trade, whose property did
not exceed £5 value ; and of persons not so engaged, who were worth
no more than £100. A proclamation was issued, abolishing all author-
ity not derived from the English parliament : all persons holding public
appointments, whose fidelity to the new order of things was suspected,
were dismissed, and their places supplied by others of more subservient
(irinciple^ ; and the supreme courts of justice were abolished, and
English judges appointed to discharge the judicial functions, aided by a
(ew natives.-j-

As several bodies of Highlanders still remained underarms in the in-
t( rior of the Highlands, Monk directed three distinct parties to cross
the mountains, simultaneously, in the summer of sixteen hundred and
fifty two. While colonel Lilburn advanced from Inverness towards
Lochaber on one side, general Dean led his troops from Perth in the
same direction on the other, and colonel Overton landed in Kintyre
with a force from Ayr. But they were all obliged speedily to retrace
their steps, amid the jeers and laughter of the Highlanders. J

The administration of the afl'airs of Scotland was committed to Monk,
than whom a more prudent person, and better calculated to disarm the
indignant feelings of the Scots at their national degradation, could not
have been selected. But as it w-as evident that order could not be restored,

• Bair.iur, Tul. iv. p. 315. Gordon's Cuiitiimiitiun, p. 501.
t Whitelock, p- 528, 542. Leicesu-r's Journal, p. 129. Journals Not. 19.
f Alluding to Lilburne's expedition, Balfour sa)S, '* The Frassers came in to them,
and condiscendit to pay them cesse; hot Glengarej- stood out, and in effecte the heigh-
landmen fooled them home againe to the lowlandes; some with faire wordes; others
stoode to ther defince; and the Inglishe finding nothing amongest them save hunger
and strokes, were glad, (ther bisquet and cheesse being all spen', and ther dolhes worne,
"ith their horsses out-tyrcd,) to returne, cursing the hcighlandes, to ther winter quar-
ters." He says that General Dean " lost some few men and horsses in viewing of the
heighlanders.'' But Overton encountered the greatest danger: for, sajs the same writer,
*' If my Lord IVlarquesse of Argyle had not protected him, he and all that wes wi h
him had gottin ther throttes culte. So, Weill laughin at by the heighlanders, he weg
forced to returne with penurey aneuche, wrrey glade all of them that ther lives wen
Bived."— \'iil. iv. p. 340-50.

78 HISTORY OF THE HIGIILANDS.

or obedience enforced, as long as the clergy were allowed to continue f lioir
impertinent meddling in state affairs, and to wliich all tlie calamities
whicli had befallen the kingdom were to be attributed, he prohibited the
meetings of the General Assembly, and, in one instance, dispersed that
body by a military force. In doing so, it was afterwards admitted by
some of the ciergy themselves,* that he had acted wisely, as the shutting
up of the assembly tended greatly to allay those fierce contentions be-
tween the protesters and resolutioners, which, for several years, dis-
tracted the nation, and made them attend more to the spiritual con-
cerns of their flocks, j- The spirit of dissention was not, however, con-
fined to the clergy, but extended its withering influence to many of the
laity, who, to gratify their revenge, accused one another of the most
atrocious crimes before the newly constituted tribunal. The English
judges were called to decide upon numerous acts alleged to have been
committed twenty or thirty years before, of which no proofs were of-
fered, but extorted confessions in the kirk, and no less than sixty per-
sons were brought before them accused of witchcraft, who had been
tortured into an admission of its practices. All these cases were dis-
missed, and the new judges administered the laws throughout with an
equity and moderation which was almost unknown before in Scotland,
and which formed a singular contrast with the disregard of justice, and
the extreme violence which had of late disgraced the Scottish tribunals.
With a short interruption, occasioned by an insurrection, under the
earl ofGlencairn, in the Highlands, Scotland now enjoyed tranquillity
tjil the restoration of Charles II., and comparative prosperity and hap-

• " They, (the English,) did not perm't the GLiieral Assembly to site, (and in litis I
t)elieve they did no bad office,) for both the autlioiity of tliat ineetting was denyed by
the protesters, and tlie assembly seemed to be more sett upon establishing tiiemselves

than promoving religion Besides the ministers, after some years, began

to look at the questions about which they had decided as inconsiderable. And what did
it import, whether the king was a real covenanter and presbyterian, as tlie public reso-
lutioners said, or tbat he hade only dissembled fur his interest, as tiie protesters said,
while in the mean time he was a banished man, and out of case either to fulfill or vio-
late his covenant ?" — Kirhton, p. 54 — 5.

f " And I verily believe there were more souls converted to Christ in that short po
fiod of time, than in any season since the Uefurmaiion, though of treeple ils duration.
Nor Avas there ever greater purity and plenty of the meaiis of grace than was in their
time. IVIinisters were painful, people were diligent ; and if a man hade seen one o(
their solemn communions, where many congregations mett in great multitudes, some
dozen of Ministers used to preach, and the people continued, as it were, in a sort of
trance, (so serious were they in spiritual exercises,) for tliree days at least, he would
have thought it a solemnity unknown to the rest of the world." — Ibid.

" It is nut to be forgotten, that from the year 1652 to tlio year 1660, there was great
gooil done by the preaciiing of the Gospell in the west of Scotland, more than was ob-
srrvctl to have been for twenty or tliirty years before; a great many brought in to Christ
Jesus by a saving work of conversion, which occasioned through ministers preaching
nothing all that tymc but the gospell, and had left olf to preach up parliaments, armies,
leagues, resolutions, and remonstrances, wliich was much in use before, from tlio year
1638 till that lime 62, which occasioned a great number of hyp"crytes in the church,
who, out of hope of preferment, honour, riches, and worldly credil. look on the furine of
godliness, but wanlvd the power of it ** — Lniv's Mrmorinh

l.V [riUO.S

less than j-

-r-li'-, ^^!,.. !

ices. All

■0.1 th.: YV.

1

comparative prosperity and bap

k^t, he iToii'

i

(

1

OLFNCAFRN's INSURUECTrOV. 79

piiifss, a compi'iisatioii in some degree for the loss of her liberties. Tlie
interruption alludeil to took place in the year sixteen hundred and fifty-
three, on tlie departure of Jlonk from Scotland to take the command o(
the English fleet, of which interruption the following are the details : —

In the month of August, sixteen hundred and fifty-three, a meeting
was held at Lochearn, which was attended by Glcneairn, the earl o(
Athole, Loid Lorn, eldest son of the marquis of Argyle, Glengarrv,
Lochiel, Graham of Deuchrie, iSIaegregor, tutor of Maegregor, Far-
quharson of Inverey, Rubtrt-ion of Strowan, Macnaughton of Mac-
naughton, and Colonel Blaekadder of Tullyallan. At this meeting,
which continued several days, it was ultimately agreed that the persons
present should assemble their vassals and dependents with as little delay
as possible, and place themselves under the command of Glencairn, who
was to wait in the neighbourhood of Lochearn till the different parties
should collect and bring togetlicr their respective forces. Six weeks
were, however, allo\ied to expire before any assemblage took place,
during all which time Glencairn roamed through the r.eighbounng
mountains, attended only by one companion and three servants. The
first who made his appearance was Graham of Deuchrie, at the head of
forty men. He was follo\;ed, in two or three days, by the tutor of
Macgregor, and eighty of thai cbn With this force he went to Deu-
chrie house, where he was joined by Lord Kenmure, and about forty
hot^^enien from the west, and by Colonel Blaekadder, with thirty more
whom he had raised in Fife. The laird of Macnaughton also arrived
witl\ twelve horse, and a party of between sixty and eighty lowlanders,
under the command of Captain Hamilton, brother to the laird of Miln-
town. The earl's force thus amounted to nearly three hundred men.

On hearing of the assemblage of this body. Colonel Kidd, the go-
vernor of Stirling castle, at the head of the greater part of a regiment
■ if foot, and a troop of horse, marched towards Aberfoyle, which was
within three miles of Glencairn 's camp ; but having received notice of
hi,i approach, the earl took care to secure the adjoining pass. He
pos'.ed his foot to the best advantage on both sides, and he drew up
the horse under Lord Kenmure in the centre. Although Kidd must
have perceived the great risk he would run in attempting to carry the
pass, he nevertheless made the attempt, but his advance was driven
back at the first charge by the lowlanders and Deuchrie's men, with
wliora they first came in contact, with the loss of about sixty men.
The whole of Kidd's party, thereupon, turned their backs and fled.
They were hotly pursued by Glencairn's horse and foot, who killed
l.bout eighty of them.

The news of Kidd's defeat, trifling as it was, raised the hopes of the
royalists, and small parties of Highlanders Hocked daily to Glencairn's
stdudard. Leaving ^berfoyie, he nuirched to Lochearn, and thence
to Loch Rannoch where he was met by several of the clans. Glen-
garry brought three .lundrcd, Lochiel four hundred, and Macgregoi

80

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

about two hundred men. The earl of Athole appeared at the hoaii ol
a liundred horse, and brought also a regiment of foot, consisting of
about twelve hundred men, commanded by Andrew Drunimond, bro-
ther to Sir James Driimniond of Mechaney, as his lieutenant-colonel.
Sir Arthur Forbes and some officers, with about eighty horsemen, also
joined the royal army.

Having despatched some officers to the lowhuiils, with instructions
to raise forces, Glencairn marched uortli to join Farquharson of Inverey,
who was raising a regiment in Cromar. In the course of his march,
several gentlemen of the adjoining country joined him. Morgan, the
English general, who was lying at the time in Aberdeen, being ap-
prised of Farquharson's movements, collected a force of two thousand
foot and one thousand horse, with which he advanced, by forced
marches, towards Cromar, and a brisk attack upon the outposts of
Glencairn 's army was the first intelligence they received of IMorgan's
appioach. In the situation in which Glencairn thus found himself un-
expectedly placed, he had no remedy but an immediate retreat through
a long and narrow glen leading to the forest of Abernethy, which he
was enabled to reach chiefly by the bravery of Graham of Deuchiie,
who, at the head of a resolute party of forty men, kept in check a body
of the enemy who had entered the glen before the royalists, and pre-
vented them from securing the passes. Morgan pursued the fugitives
through the glen very closely, and did not desist till prevented by the
darkness of the night. He thereafter returned to Aberdeen.

Glencairn passed about five weeks in Cromar and Buriinoch, waiting
for additional reinforcements ; and as Lord Lorn had not yet joined
him, he despatched Lord Kenmure with a hundred horse into Argyle-
shire to urge him to hurry forward the levies in that quarter. Lorn
soon arrived in Badenoch with a thousand foot and about fifty horse ;
but he had not remained above a fortnight in the field when, on some
pretence or other, he clandestinely left the army, and carried oft' his
men along with hira, taking the direction of Uuthven castle, which was
then garrisoned by English troops. Glencairn was greatly exasperated
at Lorn's defection, and sent a party of horse, under the command of
Glengarry and Lochiel, with instructions either to bring him and his
men back to the army, or, in case of refusal, to attack them. Glen-
garry followed the Campbells so hard that he came up with them
within half a mile of the castle. Lord Lorn escaped, and was followed
by his horse, of whom about twenty were brought back by a party sent
in pursuit by Glengarry ; the foot halted on a hill, and offered to return
to the camp. Glengarry, who had imbibed a great antipathy at tht
whole race of the Campbells ever since Montrose's wars, would, contrary
to his instructions, have attacked them ; but Glencairn fortunately arrived
in time to prevent bloodshed, and having ordered Graham of Deuchrie to
acquaint them that he could not receive any proposals from them with
arms in their hands, they delivered them up. Glencairn, along with some

ARRIVAL OF GENERAL MIDDLETOX. 81

officers, then rode up to tliem, and having addressed them on the impro-
priety of their conduct, they all declared their willingness to serve tlip
king and to obey him as their commander, a declaration which both
officers and men confirmed with an oath. Their arms were then re-
stored to them, but they all deserted within a fortnight.*

About this time Glencairn was joined by a small party of English
royalisti;, under Colonel Wogan, an enterprising otficer, who had
landed at Dover, and having raised a body of volunteers in London,
traversed England under the banners of the commonwealth, and en-
tered Scotland by Carlisle

Notwithstanding the desertion of the Campbells, Glencairn 's army
n-as so increased by daily accessions of force that he consiilered himself
in a condition to cope with the enemy, and, by the advice of his of-
ficers, resolved to descend into Aberdeenshire, and beat up the
quarters of the English. Another reason which urged him to leave the
Highlands was a scarcity of provisions in the districts which liad been
occupied by his army, and which could no longer afford to support sucli
a large body of men. Descending by Balveny, he took up his quarters
at Whitelums, near the castle of Kildrummie, belonging to the earl of
Mar, then garrisoned by the English. After lying about a fortnight
at Whitelums unmolested, Glencairn raised his camp, and marching
into Morayshire, took possession of Elgin, where he established his
head quarters. Here he was joined by the marquis of Montrose, Lord
Forrester, and some country gentlemen.

After spending a month at Elgin, where, according to Graham of
Deuchrie's narrative, the army had " very good quarters, and where
they made themselves merry," the earl received letters from General
Middleton, who had sometime before made his escape from the tower
of London, where he had been imprisoned after the battle of Worcester,
announcing his arrival in Sutherland, with a commission from the king,
appointing him generalissimo of all the royal forces in Scotland. Some
dissensions had existed among the royalists respecting the chief command
of the armj', which had been finally conceded to Glencairn ; but neither
he, nor the nobility who were with him, were prepared to expect that
the king would have appointed a man so much their infeiior in station as
Middleton was to such an important charge. The intelligence ^^as ac-
cordingly received with discontent bj' tliese feudal sovereigns ; but, as
the king's commission could not, without serious injury to the royal
cause, be disputed, in the present conjuncture they stifled their dis-
pleasure, and Glencairn, in terms of the instructions lie had received
from Middleton to march north, put his army in motion. Morgan,
the English commander, having drawn together a body of troops,
followed Glencairn, between whose rear and Morgan's advanced guard
many warm skirmishes took place. In his march north, Glen<'airn

• nraham nf D.-urlirie's Arcounl of Glenraini's Expedili.in

82

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

lairieU u short time before Litlieii house, which he summoned its
proprietor to surrender for behoof of the king ; but he refused to do so,
and fired upon the besiegers, of whom four or five were killed. Exas-
perated at the loss of his men, Glcncairn ordered his troops to fill the
courts and gates of the house with some stacks of corn which stood in
the adjoining inclosures, and to set fire to thcni, with the intention of
stifling the besieged with the smoke. This order was pronijitly obeyed,
but it failed of its intended efliect, and Glencairn had the mortification
to lose three or foui- additional men in this absurd enterprise. In re-
venge for this disappointment, he burnt the stack-yards, and wasted all
the lands around the castle belonging to the refractory laird.

Glencairn, thereupon, continued his march, and his men crossed the
river Ness, eight miles above Inverness. The horses were made to
swim over. The earl having placed guards along the northern bank of
the river to watch the approach of the enemy, hastened to Dornoch to
meet Middleton. In a few days a grand muster of the army took place,
which was ascertained to amount to three thousand five hundred foot,
and one thousand five hundred horse. Glencairn then resigned the
command to jNIiddleton, in presence of the army, and, riding along t!ie
lines, acquainted the troops that he was no longer their general, and
expressed a hope that they would find themselves happy in serving under
such a commander as Middleton. The troops expressed great dissatis-
faction at this announcement by their looks, and some, "both officers
and soldiers, shed tears, and vowed that they would serve with their
old general in any corner of the world.'"*

After the review, the earl gave a sumptuous entertainment to Mid-
dleton and the principal officers of the army, at which an occurrence
took place v hicli soured the temper of the officers, and sowed the seeds
of new divisions in the camp. On the cloth being removed, Glencairn
proposed the health of the commander-in-chief, whom he thus addres-
sed : — " ]My lord general, you see what a gallant army these worthy
gentlemen here present and I have gathered together, at a time when
it could hardly be expected that any number durst meet together : thesis
men have come out to serve his majesty, at the hazard of their lives and
all that is dear to them : I hope, therefore, you will give them all the
encouragement to do their duty that lies in your power." Scarcely had
these words been uttered when Sir George Munro, who had come over
with Middleton from France to act as his lieutenant-general, started up
from his seat, and addressing himself to the earl, swore by G — that
the men he had that day seen were nothing but a number of thieves and
robbers, and that ere long he would bring a very difTerent set of men
into the field. These imprudent observations called up Glengarry, but
he was restrained by Glencairn, who said that he was more concerned in
the affront put upon the army by Munro th.in he was, and, turning to

DEFECTION OF GLEN'CAIRX DEFEAT OF MiUDLETOM S**

Munro, he thus addressed him — " You, Sir, are a base liar; for they
are neither thieves nor robbers, but brave gentlemen and good soldiers."
A meeting took place in consequence early next morning between
(ilencairn and Munro, about two miles to the south of Dornoch. The
former was accompanied by a servant named White, and the latter by
his brother, Alexander INIunio. The parties were both mounted on
horseback, and it was agreed, tiiat after discharging pistols at each
other, they should fight with broadswords. They accordingly fired,
but without effect, and immediately began the combat with their swords.
Sir George, after a few passes, received a severe wound on the bridle
hand. Fearing that he could no longer manage his horse, he called
out to the carl that as he was wounded in his left hand he hoped he
would allow him to fight on foot. " Yes," exclaimed the earl, " I will
show you that I can match you either on foot or on horseback." They
then dismounted, and renewed the contest ; but Munro, at the first
onset, received a severe cut in the forehead, from which the blood issued
so copiously as to obscure his vision, and prevent him from following
the motions of his adversary. Glencairn was just about running IMunro
tlirough the body, but was prevented by White, who forced up his
sword. The parties then returned to head quarters, when Glencairn
was put under arrest in his chamber, by orders of Middleton, and his
sword taken from him.

The partiality thus shown to IMunro, who was the aggressor, and
who had sent the challenge to Glencairn, was exceedingly mortifying
to the earl, which being followed by another aflfair which soon took
place, and in which the same partiality was displayed, made him resolve
to retire from the army. The occurrence was this : — A dispute having
taken place on the merits of the recent quarrel between a Captain Living-
ston, a friend of Munro, and a gentleman of the name of Lindsay,
who had accompanied Lord Najjier from the continent, in which Living-
ston maintained that Munro had acted properly, and the contrary
insisted upon by Lindsay ; mutual challenges were given, and the
parties met on the links of Dornoch to decide the dispute by the sword.
Lindsay, being a superior swordsman, run Livingston through the
heart at the first thrust, and he expired immediately. Lindsay was im-
mediately apprehended, and although Glencairn, backed by other offi-
cers, used every exertion to save him, he was brought to trial before a
court-martial, by order of Middleton, and condemned to be shot at
the cross of Dornoch, a sentence which was carried into execution the
same day.

These unfortunate disputes divided the officers of the army into two
parties, and afforded but a sorry prognostic of the prospects of the
rovalists. Glencairn, no longer able to curb his displeasure, slipped
off' about a fortnight after Lindsay's death, with his own troop of horse,
and a few gentlemen volunteers — a hundred horse in all — and took the
direction of Assint. The laird of .A.ssint, wiio had betrayed IMontrose,

84

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

on ilio arrival of Glencairn s party on his lands, offered to assist him to
secure the passes, so as to prevent him from being overtalcen that niglit,
of which offer Glencairn, thougli distrustful of Macleod, agreed to
accept. Middlelon indeed sent a party in pursuit, but they did not
come up with Glencairn, who reached Kintail the following day, where
he was well received by tin; earl of Seafortli's people. He remained
there a few days, and afterwards traversed the Highlands till he arrived
at Kilhn, at the head of Loch Tay, where he was successively joined
by Sir George !Maxwell, the earl of Selkirk, and Lord Forrester, each
of whom brought a small party of horse along with them, by which
additions his force was increased to four Iiundred horsemen. Tlie earl
now appears, for the first time, to have seen the impropriety of liis con-
duct in withdrawing from the army ; but as he could not endure the
idea of returning himself, he endeavoured to make some reparation by
sending this body nortli to join Middleton, and sought a retreat with
the laird of Luss at his castle of Rosedoe, where he despatched some
officers to raise men in the lowlands for the king's service.

In the meantime Monk had returned to Scotland, and had brouglit along
with liim a strong reinrorceuient of troops from England, with which he
joined Morgan in the north, and marched directly into the Highlands
in search of Middleton. It was the intention of the latter to have re-
mained for some time in the Highlands, and to have collected all the
forces he possibly could, and to make occasional descents upon the
lowlands, and by marches and countermarches to have distracted the
enemy ; but the advance of Monk into the very bosom of the High-
lands, with a large army, frustrated his design. Middleton soon found
himself sorely pressed by his able adversary, who brought forward his
army in separate divisions, yet not so isolated as not to be able to sup-
port each other in case of attack. In an attempt to elude his pursuers,
Middleton was surprised in a defile near Lochgarry, by one of these
divisions under the command of Morgan. His men were either slain
or dispersed, and he himself escaped with difficulty. The chiefs of the
insurrection immediately made their peace with Monk, who treated
them with great lenitj'.*

Whilst the Scottisli royalists were making an ineffectual attempt to
free their country from the yoke of Cromwell, the king appeared to
take little concern in the matter, and spent the greater part of his time
in indolence and amusement at Paris. Though straitened in his pe-
cuniary circumstances, and wholly dependent upon the liberality of the
French king and the eleemosynary aid of his friends in England, he
still retained about him the officers of his household and thus kept u|)
the appearance, at least, of a court. The gaieties of the French capi-
tal were so congenial to the disposition of the king, as to make the sup-
position probable, that the longer he remained there the more indiffer-

Deuclirie's Narialivc

INTRIGUES OF CnOMWELL AND MAZAfllN. gg

rnt hr would have become to his own interests and those of his peo-
ple; but a change of residence to Cologne, whence he had been induc-
ed to remove on a negotiation being entered into with Cromwell, by
Cardinal Mazarin, made him think more seriously of the affairs of his
kingdoms.

During his retreat at Cologne a rupture took place between England
and Spain, of which the king endeavoured inmiediately to avail himself
with the view of forwarding his restoration. There were, at this time,
several English and Irish regiments in the French service, which he pro-
posed to call from France, and with these, aided by such succours as Spain
might afford, he offered to make a descent on England; but although
this proposal was entertained by the Spanish ministers at Brussels, in
the neighbourhood of which Charles had latterly taken up his residence,
it was interrupted for some time by another oH'er made to the court of
Spain, by Colonel Sexby, formerly the adherent, but now the mortal
enemy of Cromwell, whom he considered an apostate from the cause of
lil)erty. This man went to Brussels in the month of May, sixteen hun-
dred and fifty five, and after revealing to the court there, the destination
and object of a secret expedition under Venables and Penn, he offered
to obtain the aid of the levellers in England to destroy the power of
Cromwell, provided they were supplied with monej', and had the co-op-
eration of the Englisli and Irish troops in the service of Spain. The
rourt of Spain listened to Sexby 's proposals and advanced him a large
sum of money, part of which he transmitted to his adherents in Eng-
land. Sexby, whose designs were made known to Cromwell, afterwards
vi>ited England, and after making the necessary arrangements with his
brother levellers, returned in safety to the continent. *

The Spanish ministers, who at first were very suspicious of Sexby,
were now satisfied of his sincerity, and became anxious to effect a union
between him and the king, by means of which they expected to render
the subjugation of Cromwell of easier performance. At a meeting
which was held in the month of December, sixteen hundred and fifty-
six, Sexby agreed to the restoration of a limited monarchy if settled by
a free parliament, but in making the attempt to overthrow the usurper,
he was anxious that the restoration of the king should not be mention-
ed, but that their object should be osten'iibly confined to the destruction
of Cromwell, and to the restoration of public liberty. Though desirous of
making use of Sexby's services, Charles considered that he had greatly
over-rated his means, and he thought that even according to Sexby's own
statement, his associates would not be hostile to royalty.

Both Cromwell and Mazarin grew alarmed at these negotiations.
Wlulst the latter anticipated a defection of the English and Irish regi-
ments from the French service, as the result, the other dreaded a descent
upon England ; but fertile in expedients, these two Avily politicians soon

. CI.-.rcii.ioii, Pap. iii. p. 271,2, 4, 7— 281, 5. Thurloc, Vol. iv. |.. fi98; >'ol. v. p.
no. .119, 349: vi. p. 829—33. Cajles Letters, V. 1. ii. p. 85, WX

86

HISTORY or THE HIGHLANDS.

devised means for counteracting the designs of these different parties.
The duke of York, afterwards King James II. had served witli great
honour under Marshal Turenne, and, by his bravery, had not only
gained the esteem of that able commander, but also the hearts of his
countrymen. By a secret article in tlie treaty between France and the
Protector it was stipulated that the duke should l)e banislied from
France ; but in consequence of Charles' offer to the Spanish court the
article remained a dead letter, and to prevent a junction between the
two brothers, and the consequent defection of the English and Irish
regiments in the service of France, the appointment of Captain General
in the army of Italy, was conferred upon him by Mazarin, with the
approbation of Cromwell who liad been consulted in the matter. This
plan was, however, frustrated by Charles, who ordered tlie duke to re-
pair to Bruges immediately, and who, although he liad accepted the of-
fer of Mazarin with eagerness, at once complied. This event induced
almost the whole of the English and Irish officers in the French army
to resign their commissions, and many of the men, following the exam-
ple of their officers, also left the service. Foiled in this attempt, Crom-
well and Mazarin endeavoured by secret intrigue to sow the seeds of
distrust in the mind of Don Juan, the governor of the Netherlands,
against the duke of York, by spreading a report that James was sin-
cerely attached to France, and that of course little reliance could be
placed on him by Spain, and Mazarin and Cromwell so far succeeded
in their scheme, that Don Juan gave the real command of the English
and Irish forces to Marsin a foreigner, and, with the consent of Charles,
made the officers and soldiers take an oath of fidelity to Spain.
But this marked distrust of James did not stop here, for Charles was
prevailed upon to order his brother to dismiss Sir John Berkeley, a fa-
vourite, and the secret agent of the French court. The young jjrinee
complied, but he was so displeased with the treatment lie had received,
that he followed Berkeley into Holland intending to proceed through
Germany to France. The success of this intrigue was as gratifying to
Cromwell as it was annoying to Charles ; but Cromwell's joy was of
short duration, for a reconciliation soon took place between the royal
brothers, and James returned to Breda followed by Berkeley whom the
king raised to the peerage. *

The war with Spain was exceedingly unpopular in England, and
there seems to be little doubt that had Charles invaded it in due time
with a few thousand men, he would have destroyed Cromwell ; but the
expedition was postponed from month to month, by the Spanish minis-
ters, till the advance of winter when it was too late in the year to un-
dertake it. But the death of Cromwell, which took place on the third
of September, sixteen hundred and fifty-eight, and the new aspect ol
affairs in England altered his views.

^ of J..

Vul. i. J.. 2Ge, 273, 2<Xi TlmH".-, Vol. y. p. 7.sr,.

AMBIGUOUS CONDUCT OF MONK. 87

Cliarles M-as led to believe that Monk, who still lieKl the chief com-
mand in Scotland, was by no means unfavourable to him, and even be-
fore the death of Cromwell he had been induced to make proposals to
him, to w liich Monk's wife and his domestic chajilain wore privy ; but
although these offers were very tempting and were received by Monk
without dii^approbation, he never could be prevailed upon to unbosom
himself to those who were appointed to sound him. These intrigues
were suspected by Cromwell, but as he could never find a clue to their
discovery, he facetiously put Monk on his guard by the following post-
script to one of his letters to that general. " 'Tis said there is a cunning
fellow in Scotland, called George iSIonk, who lies in wait there to serve
Charles Stuart ; pray, use your diligence to take him, and send him uj
to me."* This notification made Monk even still more reserved, an<
he observed the same taciturnity when, after the death of Cromwell, a
message was brought by Dr Monk, his brotlier, a clergyman of Corn-
way, who was sent down to Scotland by Sir John Grenville, with a let-
ter to Monk from the king. He even dismissed his brother without
any particular allusion to the object of his visit, on being informed by
him in answer to a preliminary question, that he had already made
Monk's chaplain, who was friendly to the king, a party to the secret.

It is clear, however, that Monk had now resolved to join the royal cause;
but as secrecy seemed to be indispensable, lie concealed his designs, and
so effectually, that the most clear sighted could not perceive his object.
To break at once with Lambert, Fleetwood, and the other leading repub-
licans who had endeavoured to undermine his power, and who had become
very unpopular of late, was the prelude to that successful plan of opera-
tions which he carried through to, and by which ho accomplished, the
restoration of the king. Accordingly, no sooner had he heard of the
expulsion of the English parliament, and the high rank of major general
of all the forces, which had been conferred on Lambert by his partizans,
than he openly declared himself in opposition to Lambert the " assertor of
the ancient laws and liberties of the country." Lambert was immediately
despatched to the north with a force of seven thousand men against Monk,
who was by no means yet ready to recei\e him. He therefore had re-
course to negotiation to obtain delay, and succeeded. Lambert's army
did not advance in consequence farther north than Newcastle, and Monk
employed the time ihus afforded him in raising troops in Scotland, with
which he filled up the blanks in his army, occasioned by the dismissal of
such of his men as were unfriendly to him He, thereafter, called a con-
vention of the Scottish estates at Berwick, from which, on the sixth of
December, sixteen hundred and tifty-niiie, he obtamed a grant of a year's
arrears of taxes, amounting to £G0,000, besides the duties of excise
and customs. The restoration of tiie English parliament, which had been
expelled by Lambert, favoured the designs of Monk, who crossed the

88

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Tweed on the first of January, sixteen hundred and sixty, to meet
Laiiibirt; but a message from the parliament ordering the latter to
withdraw, prevented a meeting. Monk proceeded on his march, and
entered London on tlie third of February at the head of his army.

Though appearing to act in conjunction with the parliament, sus«
[licions were entertained that Monk was favourable to the king, and
at York he had even caned an officer who had laid to his charge
I lie design of restoring the king. A successful interference, which he
made at Nottingham, to prevent his officers from signing a declaration
to be obedient to the parliament in all things, "except the bringing in
of Charles Stuart," confirmed in some degree these suspicions. Bui
his adherence to the republican party was now to be put to the test by
the parliament, which required hiin as a member of the council of state
to abjure the house of Stuart. He hesitated, and as seven of the coun-
sellors had not yet abjured, he requireil to be first informed why tliey
had not done so. He observed that oaths were easily violated, and that
as providence might see fit to restore Charles Stuart, it appeared to him
to be a crime to swear against what providence might ordain ; that he
had already given proofs of his obedience to the parliament, and
was ready to give farther marks of his devotion to them. A dis-
pute between the parliament and the common council of London, who
had issued a declaration, demanding "a full and free parliament accord-
ing to the ancient and fundamental laws of the land," soon put Monk's
sincerity to the test. On the ninth of February, two hours after mid-
night, he was ordered to enter the city, to arrest eleven of the principal
citizens, and to remove the barricades which had been raised for its de-
fence. He demurred, but at last obeyed ; he was received by the
citizens with groans and hisses, the soldiers murmured and the
officers tendered their resignations ; but it was easy to perceive that
Monk acted w ith reluctance ; he however proceeded, and after remov-
ing the posts and chains of the city, wrote a letter to the speaker,
giving his opinion that enough had been done to curb the reli'actory citi-
zens. The parliament again ordered him to proceed, on which he de-
molished the gates and portcullises. The discontents of the soldiers
now rose to such a height that Monk was obliged to desist, and he re-
turned to his residence at Whitehall. *

Monk on reflection thought he perceived, in the orders he had receiv-
ed, an intention on the part of the parliamentary leaders to embroil him
with the citizens, and he therefore took immediate steps to redeem him-
self, before the parliament should have time to carry its ulterior views
respecting him into effect. Accordingly at a council of olHcers which
was held the following day, a letter to the speaker, which w ith the aid of
iiis confidential advisers he had prepared the previous evening, was laid
befVire them and approved of In this letter the officers were made to

i. Ludlow, Vol. ii. p. saO. fliilips, .599.

nlSSOLUTlGN OF THE LONG PARLIAMENT 89

romplain, tliut they had been used as instruments of personal reseni-
meiit against the citizens, and they were made to require that certain
vacancies in the Iiousc should be immediately filled, |)rcvious to a disso-
lution of the parliament. After despatching this Irtter, Monk, without
waiting for an answer, marched into Finsbury fields, and summoned a
meeting of the common council which had been lately dissolved by a
vote of the parliament. At this meeting ho declared himself the friend
of the citizens, that he would make common cause witli them, and en-
deavour to obtain a full and free parliament. The citizens were thrown
into ecstacies it this declaration, and they manifested their joy by the
ringing of bells, boii-fires, feasting the soldiers, and "the I'oasting of
the rump."*

At first the parliamentary leaders seemed to disregard this alarming
state of things, but on reflection they submitted, invited Monk to return
to Whitehall, and ordered writs to be issued for the return of members
to supply the vacancies in the representation. In a bill which they in-
troduced for fixing the qualifications of the candidates and electors, they
attempted to exclude the royalists by a provision that no person should
elect or be elected who did not bind himself to support a republic ; but
this clause was opposed by those members who had been excluded in
thp year sixteen hundred and forty eight. Monk purposely avoided
taking any share in this dispute, and so indirterent did he appear about
it, that, trusting to the impartiality of himself and his officers, the leaders
on both sides agreed to refer the dispute to their arbitrament, nine of
whom on each side argued the case before this new court. The ques-
tion was decided in favour of the excluded members, who took their seats
on the twenty-first of February, after receiving a declaration from Monk
at \\'hitehall, where he had summoned them to meet him, that he consid-
ered republicanism and moderate presbyterianism essential to preserve
the tranquillity of the nation. On resuming their seats some of the
more furious among the republicans withdrew from the house, a circum-
stance which favoured the designs of the ro3'alists greatly.f

This declaration alarmed Charles and his friends, who really consid-
ered that Monk was sincere in his professions, particularly as he never
ceased to declare, both to cavaliers and republicans, that he was for sup-
porting a republican form of government in the state, and presbytery in
the church, and so successfully had he practised this deception upon the
republican party that many of them believed him sincere, and it was
not until he had declared in favour of the claim of the excluded members

• *' At Strand-bridge I could at onu lime toll tliirty-oitc fires; in King street, seven or
tight, and all along burning and roasting, and drinking tor rumps ; there being rumps
tit'd upon sticks and carried up and down. The butchers at the Maypole in the strand,
rang a peal with their knives when they were going to sacrifice their rump 9i\ Lud-
;ate lull there was one turning of the spit that liad a rump tied to it, and anr.ther busting
of it. lideed it was past imagination." Pepys, Vol. i. p. 2rf.

1 Journals, Feb. 21. Price, 766—773. l.udlow, Vol- ii. ;ilo, 331. Hulil.inson, 3(i2.
II. M

90 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

to their seats, that they began to suspect him ; but it was now too late
for them to repair the blunder they had committed in trusting so impli-
citly to him. The prcsbyterian party had now the ascendancy in par-
liament, and one of the earliest acts was to appoint Monk commander
in chief of tlie forces in the three kingdoms, and joint commander of the
Heet with Admiral Montague. As an indication of their intentions in
regard to the king, they released all the Scottish lords, and others wlio
had been taken prisoners after the battle of \V"orcester. *

Notwithstanding tliese indications in favour of royalty, Monk still
continued to act a doubtful and very mysterious part, and he even sta-
tioned guards at tlie door of the house of lords, to prevent that branch
of the legislature from meeting to give its approval to the acts of the
commons, lest by doing so, the royal authority might be acknowledged.
But the slow motions of ^Nlonk did not suit the populace, who proclaim-
ed Charles in several places. The surviving regicides and the purchas-
ers of forfeited property grew alarmed, and to prevent the restoration
of the king, they made an offer to the commander in chief of the su-
preme power, but this he pointedly refused. At length the long parlia-
ment, which had sat nineteen years and a half, dissolved itself by its
own act, on the sixteenth of March, sixteen hundred and sixtv,
and having ordered the several officers to join their regiments, and
dismissed those whom he distrusted, Monk was loft to pursue unmolest
cd his designs for restoring Charles.

Sir John GrenviUe, who had formerly sent down Monk's brother to
Scotland, with a letter from the king, made several attempts to obtain
an interview with the Lord General at St James's ; but Monk always
avoided him. At length by the intervention of one Morrice, w ell
known to Ijoth, GrenviUe was introduced, and delivered a letter to the
general from the king, couched in language higlily flattering to Monk.
He perused the letter with attention, and when he had done reading,
remarked that he could not till tlieu declare his intentions with safelv,
and as there were many persons still about him, who were either inimi-
cal to his views, or whose sentiments as to the propriety of a restora-
tion miglit be doubtful, he would be still constrained for a time to observe
a strict secresy. He therefore jotted down the heads of his answer
in writing, and after reading it to GrenviUe threw the paper into the
fire, and desired him to carry the answer in his memory, and after en-
joining him to deliver it personally to the king dismissed him.j-

Although the re[iul)licans used great exertions in the elections, they
were defeated in most places by the cavaliers and moderate presbyteri-
ans, who having united carried every thing before them. Disappointed
in the struggle, the republicans made an appeal to arras, but the few
men tliey were able to bring into the field refused to fight, and Lam-

. I'lice, 773, LiKili.vv, .SIO, 353. Clar. Papers, Vol. iii. p 678, 697, 7S;), Til. Jruni^li
♦ Clar. Hist Vol. iii. p. 706. 711, 7;«-6. Pdce, 7S5 I»lMli..s. G(i5.

RESTORATION OF CHARLES II. 91

bert their commander was taken prisoner. The " convention" parlia-
ment met on tiie twenty-fifth of April. The time had now arrived
when Monii liad determined to throw off the veil of mystery with wliicli
he had covered liis designs. Grenville had brouglit over from Brussels
live letters from the king, one of wliicli was addressed to tiie speaker
•jf tlie liouse of commons, another to the lords, a tliird to the lord
mayor and city of London, a foiirtli to Monk and the army, and a fifth
to Montague and the navy. By an arrangement between Monk and
Grenville, tlie latter came to the door of the house of commons whilst
Mpnk was in his seat, and meeting witli a member who was entering the
council chamber, requested him to intbrm Monk that a person at the
door wished to speak to liim ; Monk rose from his seat, went to the door,
and received a letter, but observing the royal arms on tlie seal, he or-
dered the guards to detain the messenger ; GrenviUe was brought in
by order of the house, and after being interrogated by the speaker how
he had come by the letter, was ordered to be taken into custody.
Monk interfered, informed the house that tlie bearer of the letter was
liis near kinsman, and that he would be security for his appearance. *

This declaration, which revealed the secret of Monk's policy, produced
an instantaneous effect in favour of the King, and Grenville took advan-
tage of the favourable opportunity of delivering the letters addressed to
the two houses, as well as those to the army and navy, and the city ol
London. The letters to the two liouses contained a paper known in
history bj- tlie name of tiie declaration of Breda, where it had been
drawn up, in which his majestj', after granting a pardon to all persons
but those whom the parliament might except, and declaring that no per-
sons should be disturbed on account of their religious opinions, if con-
sistent with tlie peace of the kingdom, promised to leave the settlement
of all cpiestions which might arise about property which had been pur-
chased or forfeited during the revolution, to tiie wisdom of parliament ;
iiiid he, moreover, promised that the arrears of pay due to Monk's army
^liould be liquidated, that botli officers and men should be retained
ill the service ; and that tliey should continue to receive the same amount
of pay, and enjoy all the privileges tliey were tlien vested with.

Though the declaration was not exactly what Monk had required in
his private communication to the king, it was deemed so satisfactory
that tlie two houses, the army and navy, and the common council o(
London, each voted an address of thanks and congratulation to the
king, and the nation at large demanded his immediate return. In ac-
cordance with tills feeling, both houses invited his majesty to come and
take possession of his inheritance, and they sent him a present of
£50,000 to relieve his immediate wants, £10,000 to the duke of York,
and £5,000 to his younger brotlier the duke of Gloucester. Tiie king
n.us not long in obeying tlie invitation. He was received at Dover by

• 1.- Joiin.. xi- -1, 5, G.

92 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Monk, at the Iicad of thp nobility, wlience he proceeded to London
which he entered on the twenty-ninth of May, sixteen hundred and
sixty, amidst the acclamations of the citizens.

The news of the king's arrival was received in Scotland with a burst
of enthusiasm, not quite in accordance with the national character,* but
the idea that the nation was about to regain its liberties, made Scotsmen
forget their wonted propriety. Preparatoiy to the assembling of the
Scottish pailiament, which was summoned to meet at Edinburgh on the
first of January, sixteen hundred and sixty-one ; Middleton, who had
lately been created an Earl, was appointed his majesty's commissioner ;
the earl of Glencairn, chancellor; the earl of Lauderdale, secretary ot
state ; the earl of Rothes, president of the council ; and the earl of
Crawford, lord-treasurer.

It would be quite apart from the object of this work to detail the many
unconstitutional acts passed by this " terrible parliament," as it is well
named by Kirkton ; but the trial of the marquis of Argyje must not be
overlooked. That nobleman had, on the restoration of the king, gone to
London to congratulate his majesty on his return ; but on his arrival he
was immediately seized and committed to the Tower. He petitioned the
king for a personal interview, which was refused, and, to get rid of his im-
portunities, his majesty directed that he should be sent back to Scotland for
trial. Being brought to trial, he applied for delay, till some witnesses at
a distance should be examined on commission ; but this was refused. He,
thereupon, claimed the benefit of the amnesty whicli the king had granted
at Stirling. This plea was sustained by desire of the king ; but as there
were other charges against him, arising out of transactions subsequent
to the year sixteen hundred and fifty-one, to which year only the am-
nesty extended, the trial was proceeded in. These charges were, that
he had aided the Englisli in destroying the liberties of Scotland — that he
had accepted a grant of £12,000 from Cromwell — that he had repeatedly
used defamatory and traitorous language in speaking of the royal family;
and, lastly, that he had voted for a bill abjuring the right of the royal
family to the crowns of the tliroe kingdoms, which had been passed in
the parliament of Richard Cromwell, in which he sat. Argyle denied
that he had ever given any countenance or assistance to the English in
their invasion of Scotland ; but he admitted the grant from Cromwell,
which he stated was given, not in lieu of services, but as a compensation
for losses sustained by him. He, moreover, denied that he had ever used

• '' I bilieve there w;is never .'u'cident in the wurld altered llie disposition of a people
more than that (the king's return) did the Scottish nation. Sober men observed, it
not only inebriat but really intoxicate, and made people not only drunk but frantick ;
men did not think they could handsomely express ilieir joy except they turned brutes for
debauch, rebels, and pugcants ; yea, many a sober man was tempted to exceed, lest l>o
should be condemned as unnatural, disloyal, and unsensible. Most of the nobility, and
many of the gentry, and hungry old souldiers, llew to London, just as llie vulture does to
the carcase. And though n-.any of lliem were bare ejiough, tliey made no hones to give
13 of the IllO of exchange."— Kirkton, p. 65.

TRIAL AND EVECUTIOW OF Tllii MARQUIS OF ARGVLE. 03

the words attributed to him respecting tne royai tamily, and with regard
to the charge of sitting in Ricliard Cromwell's parliament, he stated that
he had taken liis scat to protect his country from oppression, and to be
ready, should occasion oH'cr, to support by his vote, the restoration of
the king. Tliis defence staggered the parliament, and judgment was
postponed. In the meantime Glencairn and Rothes hastened to Lon-
don to lay the matter before the king, and to urge the necessity of Ar-
gyle's condemnation. Unfortunately for that nobleman, they had
recovered some letters which he had written to Monk and other English
officers, in which were found some expressions very hostile to the king,
but as these letters have not been preserved, their precise contents are not
known. Argyle was again brought before parliament, and the letters
read in his presence. He had no explanation to give, and his friends,
vexed and dismaj'ed, retired from the house, and left him to his fate.
He accordingly received sentence of death on the twenty-fifth of May,
sixteen hundred and sixty-one, and, thai he might not have an oppor-
tunity of appealing to the clemency of the king, he was ordered to be
beheaded within forty-eight hours. He employed the short time he had
to live in devotion, and in receiving the consolations of his friends, some
of whom dined with him a few hours before his execution. After dinner
lie retired a short time for private prayer, and on returning, told his
friends that " Ihe Lord had scaled his charter, and said to him. Son, be
of good ciieer, thy sins are forgiven." When brought to the scaffold
he addressed the people, protested his innocence, declared his adherence
to the covenant, reproved " the abounding wickedness of the land, and
vindicated himself from the charge of being accessory to the death of
Charles 1." With the greatest fortitude he laid his head upon the block,
wliich was immediately severed from his body by the maiden. This
event took place upon Monday the twenty-seventh day of May, sixteen
hundred and sixtj'-one. By a singular destiny the head of Argyle was
fixed on the same spike which had borne that of his great rival I\Ion-
trose.*

Argyle was highly esteemed by his party ; but there is nothing in
his conduct which can be justified by the impartial historian. Duplicity,
cunning, cowardice, and avarice, were his characteristic traits. His zeal
for religion and the covenant was a mere pretence to enable him to
obtain that ascendancy among the covenanters which he acquired, and
his aficcted patriotism was regulated entirely by his personal interests.
Yet, wliatevcr were his motives, it cannot be denied that to the exertions
of Argyle Scotland is chiefly indebted for the successful stand which
was made against the unconstitutional attempts of the elder Charles upon
the civil and religious liberties of his Scottish subjects. But, criminal
as Argyle was in vituperating the royal family, and showing a predilec-
tion for Cromwell, the circumstances of the times would, by impartiaJ

• Stale Trials, vol. v., 13R.t) -l.^OR. Kirliloii, 100 — ».

9i

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

judges, have been considered as affording some extenuation for his con
duct, but it was liis misfortune to be tried by men wlio were his enemies,
and wlio did not scruple to violate all the forms of justice to bring him
to the block, in the hope of obtaining his vast possessions.

The execution of Argyle was not in accordance with the views of the
king, and there is no duubt, that if sufficient time had been allowed him
for soliciting the royal mercy, that his life would have been spared. To
show his disapprobation of the death of Argyle, the king received Lord
Lorn, liis eldest son, with favour at court, from which circumstance the
enemies of the house of Argyle anticipated that they would be disappoint-
ed in their expectations of sharing among them the confiscated estates of
the marquis. To impair, therefore, these estates was their next object.
Argj'le had obtained from the Scottish parliament a grant of the confis-
cated estate of the marquis of Huntly, his brother-in-law, on the ground
that he was a considerable creditor, but as Huntly was indebted to other
persons to the extent of 400,000 merks, the estate was burdened to
that amount on passing into Argyle's possession. Middleton and his
colleagues immediately passed an act, restoring Huntly 's estate free of
incumbrance, leaving to Huntly 's creditors recourse upon the estates of
Argyle for payment of their debts. Young Argyle was exasperated at
this proceeding, and in a letter to Lord Duffns, his brother-in-law, ex-
pressed himself in verj' unguarded terms respecting the parliament. Tins
letter was intercepted by Middleton, and on it the parliament grounded
a charge of verbal sedition, or kasing-maltlng as the crime is known in the
statutory law of Scotland, an offence which was declared capital by the
acts I424, c. 43 ; and 1540, c. 83 of the Scottish parliament. Upon this
vague charge the young nobleman was brought to trial before the parlia-
ment, and condemned to death. The enemies of the house of Argyle now
supposed that the estates of the family were again within their grasp ;
but the king, at tlie intercession of Lauderdale, the rival of Middleton,
pardoned Lorn, released him from prison after about a year's confine-
ment, restored to him the family estates, and allowed him to retain the
title of Earl.*

After the suppression of Glencairn's short-lived insurrection, the
Highlands enjoyed repose till the year sixteen hundred and seventy-four,
when a combustion took place which threatened to involve the greater
|)art of that country in the horrors of feudal war. The occasion was
this. The marquis of Argyle had purchased up some debts due by the
laird of Maclean, for which his son, the earl, ajjplied for payment ; but
the laird being unwilling or unable to pay, the earl apprised his lands,
and followed out other legal proceedings, to make the claim effectual
against Maclean's estates. In the meantime the latter died, leaving a
son under the guardianship of his brother, to whom, on Maclean's
ileath, the carl renewed his application for piiynunt. The tutor of

• Ivirlvlun p. 1 13, 166.

FEUD nETWEEN THE EARL OF ARGYLE AND TilK MACLEANS 95

Maclean stated his roailiness to settlo. either by appropriating as much of
llie rents of his ward's lands in Mull and Tirey as Mould be sufficient to
(>ay the interest of the debt, or by selling or conveying to him in security
as much of the property as would be sufficient to pay off the debt itself;
but he required, before entering into this arrangement, that the earl should
restrict his claim to what was justly due. The earl [)rofcssed his readi-
ness to comply with the tutor's olier ; but the latter contrived to evade
the matter for a considerable time, and at length showed a disposition to
resist the earl's demand by force.

The earl, therefore, resolved to enforce compliance, and armed with
a decree of the court of session, and supported by a body of two thou-
sand of his tenants and vassals, he crossed into Mull, in which he landed
at three different places without opposition, although the Macleans had
seven or eight hundred men in the island. The Macleans had sent their
cattle into Mull for safetj', a considerable number of which were killed
or houghed by Lord NeiU, brother to the earl, at the head of a party ot
the Campbells. The islanders at once submitted, and the earl having
obtained possession of the castle of Duart, and placed a garrison therein,
left the island. -Although the Macleans had promised to pay their rents
to the earl, they refused when applied to the following year, a refusal
which induced him to prepare for a second invasion of Mull. In Sep-
tember, sixteen hundred and seventy-five, he had collected a force o)
about fifteen hundred men, including a hundred of the king's troops from
Glasgow, under the command of Captain Crichton, and a similar num-
ber of militia-men under Andrew M'Farlane the laird of M'Farlane, the
use of which corps had been granted tiie earl on application to the
Council. The Macleans, aware of their danger, had strengthened them-
selves by an alliance with Lord Macdouald and other chieftains, who
>ent a force of about a thousand men to their aid ; but Argyle's forces
never reached the island, his ships having been driven back damageil
and dismantled by a dreadful hurricane, which lasted two days.*

This misfortime, and intelligence which the earl received from the
c-onimander of Duart castle, that the Macleans were in great force in
tlie island, made him postpone his enterprise. With the exception of
five hundred men, whom he retained for the protection of his coasts, and
a'jout three or four humlred to protect his lands against the incursions
of the Macleans, he dismissed his forces, after giving them instructions
to reassemble on the eighteenth of October, unless countermanded be-
fiire that time. The earl then went to Edinburgh to crave additional
aid from the government, but receiving no encouragement he posted to
London, where he expected, with the assistance of his friend the duke
of Lauderdale, to obtain assistance. Lord Macdonald and the other

• " A rumour went that 'here w;is a wiich-wile iiamed .Mudclock uhu liad promised to
Che jM'Liiins, tliai, so lung as she lived, the earle of Argile should noi enter fllull; and'
iiidei'd, many of the pcoiilc imputed the rise, of that great storme under her paction wiih
the devil, how true 1 cam ol assert."— Law's Memorials, p. 83.

96 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAXOS.

friends of tlie Macleans hearing of Argyle's departure, immediately fol-
lowed him to London, and laid a state of the dispute before the king,
who, in February, sixteen hundred and seventy-si.\, remitted the matter
to three lords of the privy council of Scotland for judgment. The earl
returned to Edinburgh in June following. A meeting of the parties
took place before the lords to whom the matter had been referred, but
they came to no decision, and the subsequent fate of Argyle put an end
to these. differences, although it appears that he was allowed to take
possession of the island of Mull without resistance in the year sixteen
hundred and eighty.*

Except upon one occasion, now to be noticed, the liighlanders took no
share in any of the public transactions in Scotland during the reigns of
Charles the Second and his brother James. Isolated froui the lowlands
liy a mountain barrier which prevented almost any intercourse between
lliem and their southern neighbours, they happily kept free from tb^.
contagion of that religious fanaticism which spread over the lowlands of
Scotland, in consequence of the unconstitutional attempts of the govern-
ment to force episcopacy upon the people. Had the liighlanders been
imbued with the same spirit which actuated the Scottish whigs, the
government might have found it a difficult task to have suppressed
them ; but they did not concern themselves with these theological dis-
putes, and they did not hesitate wlien their chiefs, at the call of the go-
vernment, required their services, to march to the lowlands to suppress
the disturbances in the western counties. Accordingly, an army of
about eight thousand men, known in Scottish history by the name of
the " Highland Host," descended from the mountains under the com-
mand of their respective chiefs, and encamped at Stirling on the twenty-
fourth of June, sixteen hundred and seventy-eight, whence they spread
themselves over Clydesdale, Renfrew, Cunningham, Kyle, and Carrick,
and overawed the whigs so effectually, that they did not attempt to
oppose the government during the staj' of these hanlj' mountaineers
among them. According to Wodrow and Kirkton, the higldanders were
guilty of great oppression and cruelty, but they kept thtir hands free
from blood, as it has been correctly stated, that not one whig lost his
life during the invasion of these higldand crusaders.f Aller remaining
about eight months in the lowlands the Highlanders were sent home,
the government having no farther occasion for their services, but before
tlieir departure they took care to carry along with them a large quantity
of plunder they had collected during their stay.J

• Note to Kirklon by Sharpe, p. 391. t Lim's Menion:ils, p. 80, 1, 2, 3 94, 159

i '■ But wluMi this goodly army reti'cated homeward, you would have thought by tlieit
bapgaoe they had been at the sack of a besieged city; and, therefore, when they passed
Stirling bridge every man drew his sword to show the woild they hade returned con-
querors from their enemies land ; but tliey might as well hare showen tlie pots, pans,
girdles, shoes taken otT country men's feet, and other bodily and household furniture
Willi wliich they were burdened; and among ail, none purchast so well as llie two carles
Airly and Strathmore, ttliiefly tJic last, who sent liome the money, not in pjis- s l.ut in
b.iijs and great riiiaiiiilies."— Kirklon, .'iaO-l.

THE TEST TRIAL ANU CONDEMNATION OF ARGVLE. 97

After the departure of the liiglilaaders, the eovcnaiiters again appear-
ed upon the stage, and proceeded so far as even to murder some soldiers
who liad been quartered on some landlords who had refused to pay cess.
The assassination of Archbishop Sharp, and the insurrection of the
covenanters under a preacher named Hamilton, followed by the defeat
of the celebrated Graham of Clavirhouse at Drumelog on the first ot
June sixteen hundred and seventy-nine, alarmed the government ; but
the defeat of the rebels by the king's forces at Bothwell bridge on the
twenty-second of June, quieted their apprehensions. Fresh measures ol
severity were adopted against the unfortunate whigs, who, driven to
ilespair, again flew to arms, encouraged by the exhortations of the cek-
biated enthusiast, Richard Cameron, from whom the religious sect,
known by the name of Canicronians, takes its name ; and Donald Cargill
another fanatic ; but they were defeated in an action at Airs-moss in
Kyle, in which Cameron, their ecclesiaiitical head, was killed.

To check the ditFusion of anti-monarchical principles, which were
spreading fast throughout the kingdom under the auspices of the dis-
ciples of Cameron, the government, on the meeting of the Scottish
parliament on the twenty-eighth of July, sixteen hundred and eighty-
one, devised a test, which was required to be taken by all persons
possessed of any civil, military, or ecclesiastical office. The parties
taking this test were made to declare their adhesion to the true protes-
tant religion, as contained in the original confession of faith, ratified by
pailiament in the year fifteen hundred and sixty, to recognise the su-
p'-emacy of the king over all persons civil and ecclesiastical, and to
acknowledge that there " lay no obligation from the national covenant,
or the solemn league and covenant, or any other manner of way what-
soever, to endeavour any alteration in the government in church or
state, as it was then established by the laws of the kingdom."*

The terms of this test were far from satisfactory to some, even of the
best friends of the government, as it was full of contradictions and
absurdities, and it was not until the privy council issued an explanatory
declaration that they could be prevailed upon to take it. The dukes ot
Hamilton and Monmouth, however, rather than take the test, resigned
their offices. Among others, who had distinguished themselves in op-
posing the passing of the test, was the earl of Argyle, who supported an
amendment proposed by Lord Belhaven, for setting aside a clause, ex-
cepting the duke of York, brother to the king, and the other princes of
the blood from its operation. The conduct of Argyle gave great of-
fence to the duke, who sat as commissioner in the parliament, and en-
couraged his enemies to set about accomplishing his ruin. The earl ot
Errol brought in a bill reviving some old claims upon his estates, and
the king's advocate endeavoured to deprive him of his hereditary offices ;
bill; the duke of York interposed and prevented the adoption of these

• Scots Acts, lOSl, c. vi-

9S HtSTOUY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

intended measures. To gratify Lis enemies, however, and to sliow the
displeasure of tlie court at his recent opposition, Argyle was deprived
of his seat in tlie court of session ; but this did not sufficiently appease
their resentment, and, anxious for an opportunity of gratifying their
malice, they hoped that he would refuse to take the test. Accordingly,
he wa.s required to subscribe it : he hesitated, and craved time to deli-
berate. Aware of the plot which had been long hatching against him,
and as he saw that if he refused he would be deprived of his important
■ hereditary jurisdictions, he resolved to take the test with a declaratory
explanation, which, it is understood, received the approbation of the
duke of York, to whom the earl had submitted it. The earl then
subscribed the test in presence of the council, and added the explanation
above mentioned. It was as follows : " I have considered the test, and
am very desirous of giving obedience as far as I can. I am confident
that the parliament never intended to impose contradictory oaths :
Therefore I think no man can explain it but for himself. Accordingly,
I take it so far as it is consistent with itself and the protestant religion.
And I do declare, that I mean not to bind myself, in my station, in a
lawful way, from wishing, and endeavouring any alteration which I think
to the advantage of Church or State, and not repugnant to the protes-
tant religion and my loj'alty. And this I understand as a part of my
oath." This declaration did not please the council, but as the duke
appeared to be satisfied, the matter was passed over, and Argyle kept
his seat at the council board.

Although the duke of York had been heard to declare, that no hon-
est man could take the test, a declaration which fully justified the course
Argyle had pursued ; yet the enemies of that nobleman wrought so
far upon the mind of his royal highness, as to induce him to think
that Argyle's declaration was a highly criminal act. The earl there-
fore was required to take the test a second time, without explana-
tion, and having refused, he was committed a prisoner to the castle of
Edinburgh, and on the slight foundation of a declaration, which had
been sanctioned by the next heir to the crown, was raised a hideous su-
perstructure of high treason, leasing-making and perjury.

Argyle was brought to trial, on Monday the twelfth day of Decem-
ber, sixteen hundred and eighty one, before the high court of justiciary.
The earl of Queensburx', the justice-general, and four other judges, sat
upon the bench, and fifteen noblemen acted as jurors. The absurdity
of the charges, and the iniquity of the attempt, to deprive a nobleman,
who had even in the worst times shown an attachment to the roj-al fami-
ly, of his fortune, his honours, and his life were ably exposed by the
counsel for tlie earl ; but so lost was a majority of the judges to every
sense of justice, that, regardless of the infamy which would for ever at-
tach to them, tliey found the libel relevant ; and on the following day the
assize or jury, of which the marquis of Montrose, cousin-german to
Argyle, was chancellor, found him guilty. Intelligence of Argyle's

AUGYLE AITD MOWMOUTh's INVASION. 99

condemnation wa; immediately sent to the king, but the messenger was
anticipatoii in his arrival, liy an express from tlic, earl himself to tlie king,
who, although ho gave orders that sentence should be passed against
Argyle, sent positive injunctions to delay the execution till his pleasure
should be known. Argyle, however, did not wish to trust to the royal
clemency, and ;is he understood preparations were making lor his execu-
tion, he made his escape from the castle of Edinburgh, disguised as a
page carrying the train of Lady Sophia Lindsa}', his daughter-in-law. *
He went to London, where he lay some time in concealment, whence
he went over to Holland. On the day of his escape, being the twenty-
first of December, he was proclaimed a fugitive at the market cross of
Edinburgh, and on the twenty-fourth, the court of justiciary passed sen-
tence of death against him, ordered his arms to be reversed, and torn at the
market cross of Edinburgh, and declared his titles and estates forfeited.

In exculpation of their infamous proceedings, the persecutors ol
Argj'le pretended that their only object in resorting to such unjustifi-
able measures, was to force him to surrender his extensive hereditary
jurisdictions, which, they considered, gave him too great authority in the
highlands, and the exercise of which in his family, might obstruct the
ends of justice ; and that they had no designs either upon his life or for-
tune. But this is an excuse which cannot be admitted, for they had in-
fluence enough with the crown, to have deprived Argyle of these heredi-
tary jurisdictions, without having recourse to measures so glaringly sub-
versive of justice.

The only advantage taken by the king, of Argyle's forfeiture, was the
retention of the heritable jurisdictions, which were parcelled out among
the friends of the court, during pleasure. The Lord Lorn, the earl's son,
had the forfeited estates restored to him, after provision had been made
for satisfying the demands of his father's creditors.

During the latter years of Charles 11. a nimiber of persons from
England and Scotland had taken refuge in Holland to escape state pro-
secutions, with wliich they were threatened. Among the Scottish exiles,
besides Argyle, were Sir James Dalrymple, afterwards earl of Stair,
the celebrated Fletcher of Salton, and Sir Patrick Hume of Polwarth,
all of whom, as martyrs of liberty, longed for an opportunity of vindi-
cating its cause in the face of their counti^y. The accession of James
n. to the crown of his brother, seemed an event favourable to their
plans, and at a meeting which some of the exiled leaders held at Rot-
terdam, they resolved to raise the standard of revolt in England and
Scotland, and invited the duke of Monmouth, also an exile, and the earl
of Argyle to join them, f Monmouth, who was then living in retire-

• '* It is reported that the earl, in liis agitation, dropt the lad/s gown, when about to
pass ttie sentinel at the castle gale; but she, wiili admirable presence of mind, snatched
up her train from the mud, and in a pretended rage, threw it in Argyle's fare, witli many
reproaches of ''careless loun," &c. which so besmeared him, that his featuies were nu4
r&'ognised." — Note to Law's memorials, by Stiarpe, p. 210.
t Hume's Narrative, p. 5—9.

lOll

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS

meiit at Brussels, spending his time in illicit amours, accepted the invi-
tation, and having repaired to Rotterdam, offered either to attempt a de-
scent on England, at the head of the En;^lish exiles, or to go to Scot-
land as a volunteer, under Argyle. * The latter, who had never ceased
since his flight from keeping up a correspondence with his friends in
Scotland, had already been making preparations, and by means of a
large sum of money he had received from a rich widow of Amster-
dam, had there purchased a ship and arms, and ammunition. He
now also repaired to Rotterdam, wliei-e it was finally arranged tliat two
expeditions sliould be fitted out, one for England, under Monmouth, and
the other for Scotland, under the command of Argyle, who was appoint-
ed by the council at Rotterdam, cf.ptain general of the army, " with as
full power as was usually given to generals by the free states in Europe.f
On the second of May, sixteen hundred and eighty-five, the expedi-
tion under Argyle, which consisted of three ships and about three hundred
men, left the shores of Hollai:d, and reached Cairston in the Orkneys
on the sixth, after a pleasant voyage. The seizure, by the natives, of
Spence, the earl's secretary, and of Blackadder, his surgeon, both of
tvhom had incautiously ventured on shore, afforded the goveinment the
necessary information as to the strength and destination of the expedi-
tion. A proclamation had been issued on the twenty-eighth of April
for putting the kingdom in a posture of defence, hostages had been
taken from the vassals of Argyle as sureties for their fidelity, and all
persons whose loyalty was suspected were eitlier imprisoned, or had to
find security for their fidelity to the government ; but as soon as the
couMcil at Edinburgh received the intelligence of Argyle's having
leaclu d the Orkneys, they despatched troops to the west, and oi'dered
several frigates to cruise among tiie western isles. After taking fbnr
Orcadians as hostages for the lives of ids secretary and surgeon, Argyle
left the Orkneys on the seventh of May, and arrived at Tobermory in
the isle of Mull on the eleventh, whence he sailed to the mainland and
landed in Kintyre. Here he published a declaration which had been
drawn up in Holland b) Sir James Stuart, afterwards king's advocate, full
of invective against tlie government, and attril)uting all the grievances
under which the country had laboured in the preceding reign to a con-
spiracy between popeiy and tyranny, which ha<l, he observed, been evi-
dently disclosed by the cutting off of the late king and the ascension of the
duke of York to the throne. It declared that the object of the invaders
was to restore the true protestant religion, and that as the duke of
York was, from his religion, as they supposed, incapable of giving se-
curity on that head, they declared that they would never enter into any
treaty with him. The earl issued, a few days thereafter, a second de-
claration from Tarbet, reciting his own wrongs, and calling upon his
former vassals to join his standard. Messengers were despatched in

Niir. p. 15. W,lhv<,o.l A'lp. s>. 323- t Uum.'s Nur. p. 9. 12—11,

APPREHENSION AND EXECUTION OF AKGYLE.

101

all directions bearing aloft the fiery cross, and in a short time about
eight hundred of Ids clan, headed by Sir Duncan Campbell of Auohiii-
breck, rallied around tlieir cluef. Other reinforcements arrived, wUicli
Micreased his army to two thousand five hundred men ; a force wholly
insufficient to meet a body of about seven thousand militia and a con-
siderable number of regular troops already assembled in the west to
oppose his advance.

Although Argyle's obvious plan was at once to have dashed into the
western lowlands w here the spirit of disaii'ection was deeply prevalent,
and where a great accession of force might have been expected, he, con-
trary to the advice of some of his officers, remained in Argyle a consi-
derable time Ih expectation of hearing of Monmouth's landing, and spent
the precious moments in chasing out of his territories a few stragglers
who infested his borders. Amid the dissensions which naturally arose
from this ditference of opinion, the royalists were hemming Argyle in
on all sides. Whilst the duke of iordon was advancing upon his rear
witli the northern forces, and the earl of Dumbarton with the regular
iroops pressing him in front, the marquis of Athole and Lord Charles
Murray at the head of fifteen hundred men, kept hanging on his right
iving, and a fleet watched his ships to prevent his escape by sea. In
this conjuncture Argyle yielded to the opinion of his officers, and leav-
ing his stores in the castle of Allangreg in charge of a garrison of one
hundred and fifty men, he began his march, on the tenth of June, to the
lowlands, and gave orders that his vessels should follow close along the
roast. The commander of the castle, on the approach of the king's
ships under Sir Thomas Hamilton, abandoned it five days thereafter,
without firing a single shot, and the warlike stores which it contained,
consisting of five thousand stand of arms, and three hundred barrels of
powder, besides a standard, bearing the inscription " against popery,
prelacy, and Erastianism," fell a prey to the royalists. The \essels also
belonging to Argyle were taken at the same time.*

On the sixteenth of June Argyle crossed the Leven near Dumbar-
ton, but finding it impracticable, from the numerous forces opposed to
him, and which met him at every point, to proceed on liis intended
route to Glasgow by the ordinary road, he betook himself to the hills
in the expectation of eluding his foes during the darkness of the night ;
but this desperate expedient did not succeed, and next morning Argyle
found his force diminished by desertion to five hundred men. Thus
abandoned by the greater part of his men, he, in his turn, deserted those
n ho n niained with him, and endeavoured to secure his own safety;
and disguising himself in a common dress he wandered for some time
in the company of Major Fullarton in the vicinity of Dundjarton, and,
in attempting to cross the Clyde at Inchinnan was taken [)risoner by a
few militia men. About a hundred of the volunteers from Holland

I Narrative, f- 40- S() Gaz, tie, 2C44.

102

HISTOBV OF THE HIGHLANDS

crossed the Clyde in boats, but being attacked by tlie royalists wcrt
dispersed. Thus ended this ill concerted and unfortunate expedition."
Argyle was carried to Glasgow, and thence to Edinburgh, where he
underwent the same ignominious and brutal treatment which the brave
Montrose had suflered on being brought to the capital after his capture,
a spectacle which Ai-gylc himself, tliirty-five years before, liad witnessed
with approbation from a balcony in front of the earl of Moray's house
in the Canongate. As the judgment which had been pronounced against
Argyle, after his escape from the castle of Edinburgh, was still in force,
no trial was considered necessary. He was beheaded accordingly on
the twenty-sixth of June, evincing in his last moments the courage of a
Roman, and the fortitude of a martyr. His two sons, Loril Lorn and
Lord Neill Campbell, were banished. Monmouth, who did not land in
England till the eleventh of June, was equally unfortunate, and suflered
the death of a traitor on Tower Hill on the iit'teenth of .Inly.

• Hums's Nari\i(ive, [) 5<j-tr7- W.idio", vol- ii. ji. oja-537. Guadlf, KlUS

ON THE FORTH NEAR ABKRFt>YIjE.

low, vol- ii. i>, da3-637. Gu;

^

'/y/// ' ////////.

C//,. £,../ /..^

CIIAFrER V,

thtconsLiLutional proceedings of the king — Di^ronlonts — Designs of tlie Prince of Orangi'
— Remonstrances of James — Uecriminaiions of tlie prince — Negotiations — Intrigues
of William — Pregnancy of the queen— CaUininious reports — Rirlh of the Prince of
Wales — Concessions of the king — He prepar s for defence — Offers of service — Scot-
tish army niarclies into England — Meeting of the malcontents in EiliTiburgh — Landing
of the Prince of Orange — Tumult in Edinburgh — Meeting of the privy council — Depar-
ture of the young prince of Wales and the queen for France — Flight and arrest of the
king — Uiutsin London — Return of the king to London — Negotiates mth the city — De-
parture of the king for France — Conduct of the duke of Gordon — Meeting of Scottish
peers and gentlemen in London — Convention of estates called — Castle of Edinburgh
summoned — Duke of Gordon denounced — Proceedings of the convention — Departure
of Dundee from Edinburgh.

The ill-fated result of Argyle's expedition, and the suppression of Men
mouth's rebellion, enabled James to turn the whole of his attention to
the accomplishment of an object more valuable, in his opinion, than the
crown itself — the restoration of the Catholic religion. In furtherance
of this design, the king adopted a series of the most unconstitutional
and impolitic measures, which destroyed the popularity he had acquired
on his accession, and finally ended in his expulsion from the throne.
It is due to the king, however, to state, that in assuming the dis-
pensing power, he merely followed the footsteps of his predeces-
sors, and that his conduct, though illegal, was quite the reverse of
intolerant, as he merely wished to see all civil disabilities removed on
account of religious opinions, and all his subjects enjoy complete tole.
ration, a principle which the legislature has lately recognised by the
repeal of the test act, and the passing of the Catholic relief bill.

It was not, however, till the Scottish parliament, which met on the
twenty-eighth of April, sixteen hundred and eighty six, and on the obse-
quiousness of which the king had placed great reliance, had refused to
repeal the test, that he resolved upon those desperate measures which
proved so fatal to him. This parliament was prorogued by order of the
king on the fifteenth day of June, and in a few months thereafter, he
addressed a succession of letters to the council, — and from which he had
previously removed some individuals who were opposed to his plans, — in
which he stated, that in requiring the parliament to repeal the penal
Btatutes, lie merely meant to give them an opportunity of evincing
their loyalty, as he considered that be had sutticient power, by virtue

104 HISTORY OF THE H1GHLANBS.

of his prerogative, to suspend or dispense with those laws ; a most er-
roneous and dangerous doctrine certainly, but which could never be
said to have been exploded till the era of the revolution. In these lii-
ters the king ordered the council to allow the Catholics to exercise their
worship freely in private, to extend the protection of government to his
Protestant as well as Catholic subjects, to receive the conformist clergy
in general to livings in the chui'ch, and to admit certain individuals
whom he named to offices in the state without requiring any of them to
take the test.*

But these letters, though disapproved in part by the council, were merely
preparatory to much more important steps. These were the issuing of t« o
successive proclamations by the king on the twelfth of February and
the fifth of July in the following ytar, granting full and free toleration
to Presbyterians, Catholics, and Quakers, with liberty to exercise their
worship in houses and chapels. He also suspended the severe penal
statutes against the Catholics, which had been passed during the mino-
rity of his grandfather ; but he declared his resolution to preserve in-
violate the rights and privileges of the then established (episcopal)
church of Scotland, and to protect the holtiers of church property in
their possessions.

By the Presbyterians who had for so many years writhed under the
lash of persecution, these proclamations were received with great sa-
tisfaction ; and at a meeting which was held at Edinburgh of the Pres-
byterian ministers, who had assembled from all parts of the country, to
consider the matter, a great majority not only accepted the boon with
cheerfulness, but voted a loyal address to his majesty, thanking him for
the indulgence he had granted them. Some there were, however, of
the more rigorous kind, who denounced any communication with the
king, whom they declared " an apostate, bigotted, excommunicated pa-
pist, under the malediction of the Mediator ; yea, heir to the impreca-
tion of his grandfather," and who found warm abettors in the clergy of
the Episcopal church in Scotland, who displayed their anger even in
their discourses from the pulpit.f

Although the Presbyterians reaped great advantages from the tolera-
tion which the king had granted, by being allowed the tree and undis-
turbed exercise of their worship, and by being, many of them, admitted
into offices of the state, yet, as they perceived that a much greater pio-
portion of Catholics was admitted to similar employments, they began to
grow suspicious of the king's intentions, and instead of continuing their
gratitude, they openly declared that they did not any longer consider
themselves under any obligation to his majesty, as the toleration had
been granted for the purpose of introducing Catholics into places of

• l-'iiuliliiiiiluill, 1177.
t VVodrow, vol. ii. p. 624, A|)p. 18T, 192, 194, 195. FuuiUainhall, Slate I'lials, vol. x
f. 7W5, Tul. %i. r- 1 179. lii.lcarras's .\.iuin.t, i- 3.

INTRIGUFS OF THE PRINCE OF OHANGE. 105

trust, and of dividing Protestants among themselves. These apprehen-
sions were encouraged by the Episcopal party, wlio, alarmed at the
violent proceedings of tlie liing against the English universities, and the
bisIio])s who had ri-fnsed to road his proclamation for liberty of con-
science in the churches, endeavoured to instil the same dread of popery
and aibitrary power into the minds of tlieir Presbyterian countrymen
which they themselves entertained. By these and similar means, dis-
content spread rapidly among the people of Scotland, who considered
their civil and religious liberties in imminent danger, and were, there-
fore, ready to join in any measure whicli might be proposed for their
protection.

William, prince of Orange, who had married the princess Mary, the
eldest daughter of James, next in succession to the crown, and who had
long entertained the idea of mounting the throne of the Stuai-ts, watched
the progress of this struggle between arbitrary power and popular rights
with extreme anxiety. He had incurred the displeasure of his father-in-
law, while duke of York, by joining the party whose object it was to ex-
clude James from the throne, by tlie reception which he gave the duke of
^Monmouth in Holland, and by his connivance, apparent at least, at the
attempts of the earl of Argyle and Monmouth. But, upon the defeat of
the latter, AViUiam, by oft'ering his congratulations on that event, rein-
stated himself in the good graces of his father-in-law. As James, how-
ever, could not reconcile the protection wliich the prince afforded to the
numerous disaffected exiles from England and Scotland who had taken re-
fuge in Holland, with the prince's professions of friendship, he demanded
their removal ; but this was refused, through the influence of the prince
with the States, and though, upon a hint being given that a war might
ensue in consequence of this refusal, they were removed from the Hague,
yet they still continued to reside in other parts of Holland, and kept up a
regular communication with the prince. Another demand made by the
king to dismiss the officers of the British regiments serving in Holland,
whose fidelity was suspected, met with the same evasive compliance ;
for although William displaced those officers, he refused commissions to
all persons whom he suspected of attachment to the king or the catholic
faith. The wise policy of this proceeding was exemplified in the subse-
quent conduct of the regiments which declared themselves in favour of
the prince's pretensions.*

But if James had to complain of the conduct of his son-in-law, the
latter was, in his turn, prepared with a list of grievances. Among
other subjects of complaint, was the report of a design on the part of
the king to exclude the princess Mary from the throne. This report
was credited by William, on whom it made a deep impression. He
demanded an explanation. The king, who was perlictly innocent, was
indignant at the charge ; but William was by no means satisiieil. and

10b HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS,

to try the king's sinceritj', he required the settlement of a yearly allow-
ance on the princess, as presumptive heir to the crown. James, con-
trary to the advice of some of his catholic counsellors, refused to accede
to this request, alleging as his reason, that as the money was not to bo
spent in the kingdom, it was not claimable.*

As James considered it of the utmost importance, for the success of
his contemplated plan for a total abrogation of the penal laws, to obtain
the consent and approbation of the prince of Orange, he sent over to
Holland, Penn, the celebrated quaker, wlio was a favourite with the king,
and on whose integrity James placed the most perfect reliance, to endea-
vour to induce the prince to accede to his plan of toleration ; but the ster-
ling honesty of Penn, and his able advocacy of the rights of conscience,
were counteracted by the influence of a more dextrous and wily politi-
cian in the person of Burnet the historian. The king was not more
successful in another attempt he made through the marquis of Abbe-
ville, who, although he succeeded in getting Burnet removed from the
court of the prince, could only procure from William a declaration^
that though a friend to toleration, lie was only such in a general sense,
and was opposed to the repeal of the test act, which he considered the
only security the church of England had under a catholic king.j-

Early in tlie year sixteen hundred and eighty-seven, William perceived
that matters were approaching to a crisis in England, but he did not
think that the time had then arrived for putting his intended design of
invading England into execution. To sound the dispositions of the
people, he sent over in February, that year, D\'ckvelt, an acute states-
man, who kept up a secret communication with those who favoured the
designs of his master. Dyckvelt soon returned to Holland, with letters
from several of the nobility addressed to the prince, all couched in fa-
vourable temis, which encouraged him to send Zuleistein, another
agent, into England to assure his friends there that if James attempted,
with the aid "of a packed parliament," to repeal the penal laws and
the test act, he would oppose him with an armed force.J

Although the king was aware of the prince's intrigues, he could never
be persuaded that the latter had any intention to dispossess him of his
cro%vn, and he continued to pursue the desperate course he had resolved
upon with a pertinacity and zeal which blinded him to the dangers
which surrounded him. The preparations of the prince for a descent on
England went on in the mean time with activity ; but a temporary damp
was cast on his hopes by reports of the pregnancy of the queen, an event
which, if a son was the result, might prevent the accession of his wife,
the princess Mary. To counteract the effect of this report u|)on the
public mind, the enemies of the king circulated with uncommon industry
a cminter report that the intelligence was untrue, and that it was

• DAv,,ux, Burnet, v.. 1. iii. p. 125.
i D'.^viml, r-.lcie ilu 23. Jany. J D.-ilrympU', |i. 2( (I ilO.

CONCESSIONS DEFENSIVE PREPA UATIONS. 107

merely preparatory to a design to force a supposititious child upon the
nation, to the exclusion of the true protestant heir to the crown. But
this malicious falsehood was refuted by tlie birth of a prince on the
tenth of June, sixteen hundred and eighty-eight, an event which has
been indubitably attested by the most convincing proofs. The opponents
of the king, however, thougli disappointed, were not depressed, and as
they had made the nation believe that a supposititious prince was to be
expected, they resorted to every expedient which ingenuity could in-
vent to persuade their dupes that their predictions had been realized.
Reports the most incredible were circulated, and although many of them
nere too inconsistent and absurd to be believed, they were greedily
swallowed, and even credited by persons of the best intentions. These
reports were carefully raked together by Burnet, who, to please his
patron, published them, a circumstance highly discreditable to his
memory.* Though the king felt keenly the indignity thus offered liim,
he disdained to give any public contradiction to the calumny which he
probably supposed would be sufficiently answered by appointing a day
tor a general thanksgiving, throughout the kingdom.

It was not till the month of Se|itembcr, when James was on the
utmost verge of the precipice, that he saw the danger of his situa-
tion. He now began, when too late, to attempt to repair the errors
of his reign, by a variety of popular concessions, but altliough these
were granted with apparent cheerfulness, and accepted with similar in-
dications of thankfulness, it was evident that they were forced from the
king by the necessity of his situation, and might be withdrawn when
that necessity ceased to exist, an idea wliich the enemies of the king
did not fail to propagate among the people.

Being now convinced tliat the prince of Orange contemplated an in-
vasion of England, James began to make the necessary preparations tor
defence. In September, sixteen hundred and eighty-eight, he sent
down an express to Scotland to the members of the privy council, ac-
quainting them of the prince's preparations, and requiring them to place
that part of his dominions on the war establishment. The militia were
accordingly embodied, the castles of Edinburgh, Stirling, &c. provi-
sioned, and orders were sent to the chiefs of the Highland clans to be
ready to Eissemble their men on a short notice. Many persons at first
discredited the report of an invasion from Holland, and considered that
it was a mere device of the king either to raise money or to collect an
army for some sinister purpose ; but their suspicions were allayed by
Intelligence being brought by some seamen from Holland of the warlike
preparations which were making in the Dutch ports. The jealousies
which were entertained of the king's intentions were dissipated by the
di''ail of a foreign invasion, and addresses were sent in to the privy

• Burnet, vnl. iii. p. 23r — 215.

lOS

lIlSTOnV OF THE HIGHLANDS

council from the different towns, and from the country gentlemen, « ith
offers of service.*

Whilst the privy council were engaged in fulfilling the king's instruc-
tions, they received an order from his majesty to concentrate the regular
army, and despatch it without delay into England. This force, which
did not exceed three thousand men, was in a state of excellent disci-
pline, and was so advantageously posted throughout the kingdom that
any insurrection which might break out could be easily suppressed.
As the prince of Orange had many adherents in Scotland, and as
the spirit of disafl'cction to the existing government in the western
counties, though subdued, had not been extinguished, the privy coun-
cil considered that to send the army, under such circumstances, out of
the kingdom, would be a most imprudent step, and they, therefore, sent
an express to the king, representing the danger of such a movement, of
which the disaffected would not fail to avail themselves, should an op-
portunity occur. They proposed that the army should remain as it was
then stationed, and that in lieu thereof, a body of militia, and a
detachment of Highlanders, amounting together to thirteen thousand
men, should be despatched to the borders, or marched into the north of
England, to watch the movements of the king's enemies in that quarter,
and to suppress any risings which they might attempt in favour of the
prince. But, although the council were unanimous in giving this ad-
vice, the king disregarded it altogether, reiterated the order he hail
formerly given, and intimated, that if any of them were afraid to remaiu
in Scotland, they might accompany the army into England.

Accordingly, the Scottish army began its march early in October, in
two divisions. The first, consisting of the foot, at the head of which
was General Douglas, brother of the duke of Queensberry, who had the
eliief command of the army, took the road to Chester ; and the second,
consisting of the horse, under the direction of Graham of Claverhouse,
as major-general, marched by York. These detachments, on their ar-
rival at London, joined the English army under the command of the
earl of Feversham, about the end of October.

To supply the absence of the regular troops, and to prevent the dis-
affected from making the capital the focus of insurrection, a large body
of militia, under tlie command of Sir George Munro, was quartered
in Edinburgh and the suburbs ; but no sooner had the army passed
the borders, than crowds from all parts of the kingdom congregated, as if
by mutual consent, into the metropolis, where they held private meetings,
which were attended by the earls of Glencairn, Crawford, Dundonald,
and others. The objects of these meetings were made known to tlie
rouncil by spies, who were employed to attend tlieni ; and althougii
Uiey were clearly treasonable, the council had not the courage to arrest

t Ibid, p. 16,

LANDING OF THE PRINCE OF ORANUE. IC'J

& single individual. Among other tilings, tlie leaders of theie meetings
resolved to intercept all correspondence between the king and the coun-
cil, a task wliich Sir James IMontgoiiiery undertook to see acconi|)lished,
anil which he so effectually discharged that very few despatches reached
their destination.*

For several weeks the privy council, owing to this interruption, was
kept in a state of painful uncertainty as to the state of the king's affairs
in England ; but at last an express arrived from the carl of Melfort, an-
nouncing the important intelligence that the prince of Orange had
landed in England witli a considerabli; force, and that his majesty had
gone to meet him at the head of his army. The earl, in his despatches,
which were addressed to his brotlier, the duke of Perth, the chancellor,
expressed himself in very sanguine terms as to the result of the ensuing
contest ; but Graham, who had been just created a peer by the king,
under the title of Viscount Dundee, in a letter to his friends in the
council, did not disguise his apprehensions as to the probable unfavourable
issue of the conflict. These discordant opinions produced an irresolution
in the minds of the members of council, who appear to have been quite at
a loss how to act under this new posture of afiairs. To ascertain the
exact state of matters in England, they despatched, on the recommenda-
tion of the viscount of Tarbet, one Brand, a merchant, and one of the
magistrates of the city, who, being iu the practice of travelling into
England on business, it was supposed would not be suspected as the
bearer of any communication to the king; but Brand basely betrayed
ills trust bj' carrj'ing his despatches to the camp of the prince of Orange,
to whom he was introduced by Dr Burnet.f

The landing of the prince, which was effected without opposition on
tlie fifth of November sixteen hundred and eighty eight, at Torbay in
Devonshire, excited the greatest alarm in the mind of the king, who
had entertained hopes that a well appointed fleet of thirty-seven men-
of-war, and seventeen fire-ships which had been stationed off the Gun-
fleet under the earl of Dartmouth, an old and experienced commander,
would have intercepted tlie prince in his voj'age; but unfortunately for
the king, the cruisers which the admiral had sent out to watch the ap-
proach of the enemy had been driven back by the violence of the wind,
and when the fleet of the prince passed the Downs towards its destined
place of disembarkation, the royal fleet was ritling at anchor abreast of
t!ie Long-sand, several miles to leeward, with the yards and topmasts
struck, and as twenty-four hours elapsed before it could be got ready to
commence the pursuit, the commander, on the. representation of his
officers, desisted from the attempt.

As soon as the king had recovered from the panic into which t!ie
news of the prince's arrival had thrown him, he ordered twenty batla-

• Balcinu!., p. la. i l'i>l. p !9 Rt

110 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS

lions of infantry and thirty squadrons of cavalry to march towards Sa-
lisbury and Marlborough, leaving six squadrons and six battalions
behind to preserve tranquillity in the capital.* The prince, who had
been led to expect that he would be received with open arms by all
classes on his arrival, met at first with a verj' cold reception, and he felt
so disappointed that he even threatened to re-embark his army. Had
James therefore adopted the advice given him by the king of France, to
push forward his troops immediately in person and attack tlie invader
before the spirit of disaffection should spread, he might, perhaps, by one
stroke, have for ever annihilated the hopes of his son-in law and preserved
his crown, but James thouglit and acted differently, and he soon had cause
to repent bitterly of the course he pursued. Owing to the open de-
fection of some of his officers and the secret machinations of others, the
king soon found, that with tlie exception perhaps of the Scottish regi-
ments, lie could no longer rely upon the fidelity of liis army. On the
twentieth of November he arrived at Salisbury, and reviewed a division
of the army stationed there ; and intended to inspect tlie following day,
another division which lay at Warminster ; but being informed that
General Kirk, its commander, the Lord Churchill and others had entered
into a conspiracy to seize him and carry him a prisoner to tlie enemy's
camp, he summoned a council of war, at which these officers were pre-
sent, and witliout making them aware that he was in the knowledge ol
such a plot, proposed a retreat beyond the Thames. This proposition
met with a keen opposition from Churchill, but was supported bj- tlie earl
of Feversham, his brother the Count de Roye, and tlie carl of Dumbarton,
who commanded one of the Scottish foot regiments. The proposal
having been adopted, Churchill and some other officers went over
to the prince during the night, f

The army accordingly retired behind the Thames, anil the king,
without leaving any particular instructions to his officers, proceeded to
London, to attend a council of peers which he had summoned to meet him
at Whitehall. The departure of the king was a subject of deep regret to
his real friends in the army, and particularly to the earl of Dumbarton,
and Lord Dundee, who had offered to engage the enemy with the Scots
troops alone, but this offer his majesty thought proper to decline, and
in a conference which Dundee and the earl of Balcarras afterwards had
with him in London, wlien he had made up his mind to retire to France,
he gave them to understand that he meant to intrust the latter with the
administration of his civil affairs in Scotland, and to appoint the former
the generalissimo of his forces.

In the Scottish privy council there were several persons who were
inimical to the king, ami who only watched an opportunity, when they
gliould no longer consider themselves in danger, of offering their alle-

• B:irill,.n.
' Mtmoiis, vol. ii. p. 222. &.'. Hanll..n. Biirnit, vol. iii. p. 318

TUMULTS IN EDINBURGH. Ill

glance and services to the prince of Orange. These were the marquis

of Athole, tlie Viscount Tarbet, and SirJoliii Dalryraple, the lord-presi-
dent of the court of session. The two latter, in conjunction with Bal-
carras, had been appointed by the council to proceed to England, to
obtain personally from tlie king the necessary instructions how to act
on the landing of the prince in consequence of the stoppage of the des-
patches on the road ; but tliey declined the journey on some frivo-
lous pretexts, and Balcarras, a nobleman of undoubted loyalty, was
obliged to go alone, and had the meeting with his majesty to which
allusion has been made. Tlicse counsellors were duly apprised of the
advance of the prince, the defection of some of the king's otficers, and of
his return to London; but as the result of the struggle seemed still to bo
dubious, they abstained from openly declaring themselves, but in ordtr
to get rid of the chancellor, the earl of Perth, and get the government
into their own hands, as preliminarj- to their designs, Viscount Tarbet
proposed that, with the exception of four companies of foot and two
troops of horse to collect the revenue, the remainder of the troops
should be disbanded, as he considered it quite unnecessary to keep up
such a force in time of peace, as the prince of Orange had stated in a
declaration which he had issued, that tliat was one of the grievances
complained of by the nation. The chancellor, not foreseeing the conse-
quences, assented to the proposal, and he had the mortification, after the
order for dismissal had been given, to receive an intimation from the
marquis of Athole and his party who waited personally upon him at his
lodgings, that as they considered it dangerous to act with him and other
Catholic counsellors who were incapacitated by law, they meant to take
the government into their own hands in behalf of the king, and they
demanded that he and his party should retire from the administration of
affairs. The duke of Gordon and the other Catholic members of the
council, on hearing of this proceeding, assembled in the chancellor's
house to consult with him as to tlie nature of the answer which should
be given to this extraordinary demand. As they saw resistance hope-
less, particularly as from appearances the populace meant to join in en-
forcing the order, they advised the chancellor to submit, and, probably to
avoid personal danger, he retired innnediately to the country. A tu-
multuous mob, which had been drawn together by some evil disposed
persons after the departure of the chancellor, proceeded to the palace
of Holy- rood, to jjull down the chapel royal ; but they were repulsed
with some loss by Captain Wallace, who had charge of the palace. A
report having been instantly spread that Wallace was butchering the
people, the whole of the inhabitants flew to arms, and a warrant having
been granted to the magistrates of the city by the marquis of Athole,
the earl of Breadalbane, Viscount Tarbet, and Sir John Dalrymple, to
obtain possession of the palace from Wallace, they proceeded in their
robes preceded by the town guard, a number of " discontented gentle-
men," among whom was Lord Mersington, " the fanatic judge," as

'\]2 HISTORY OF THE HIISHLANDS.

1 ord Balcarras calls him, "with a halbert in his hand, as drunk as alo
or brandy could make him." A mob of between two and three thou-
sand persons formed the rear; but although Wallace was summoned to
surrender by trumpeters and heralds, lie refused to obey uidess they
produced a warrant from the king and council. This refusal was im-
mediately followed by an exchange of sliots, which so terrified the ma-
gistrates and their friends, that they immediately sought for safety in the
lanes and stairs of the adjoining houses. The contest was of short
duration, for Wallace having imprudently advanced into the outer court
of the palace, he was attacked in his rear by the town guard. Ho
thereupon fled, leaving his men to defend themselves as they best could ;
but when they found that Wallace had abandoned them, they threw
auay their arms and cried out for quarter. Some, however, were killed
by the infuriated mob, and the remainder were taken prisoners, of whom
several afterwards died of their wounds, others from starvation. The
populace thereafter entered tlie chapel and palace, which they completely
gutted, and broke into the earl of Perth's cellars, which they emptied of
their contents. In a state of beastly intoxication tlie rabble continued
for two or three days, rambling through the city in quest of and plun-
dering the houses of the few Catholic inhabitants, and committed the
most atrocious acts upon the persons of some Catholic ladies, without
any attempt being made by the public authorities to restrain such
brutalities.*

After these violences had in some degree subsided, the marquis of
Athole called a meeting of the council, and proposed an address of con-
gratulation to the prince of Orange, strongly expressive of gratitude to
him for his generous undertaking to relieve them from popery and ar-
bitrarj' power, and offering a tender of their services ; but this address
ivas warmly opposed by the two archbishops. Sir John Dalrymple, Sir
George Mackenzie and others, and was finally negatived. They even
opposed the voting of any address under existing circumstances, but the
marquis and his party succeeded in carrying a short address, drawn up
in general terms. Lord Glammis was sent up with it, but it was so dit-
terent from what the Prince expected, that it met with a very cold re
ception.

The fate of the unfortunate monarch had by this time been decided
Before his return to London a great defection had taken place among
the officers of his army, and he had at last the mortification to see him-
self deserted by his son-in-law. Prince George of Denmark, and by hi.i
daughter t!ie Princess Anne, the wife of tlie Prince, who, with a perfidy,
which fortunately has liad few parallels in the annals of filial depravity,
iiad pledged her word to the prince of Orange for the desertion of her
husband six days before the return of her father to the capital. " God
help me 1 my very children have foisaken me," such was the exclamn-

• U.ili.-iiras, |i. -Ji-ZZ

FLIGHT AND ARREST OF THE KING. 113

tion uttered by the unliappy monarcli, liis countenance suffused witli
tears, when ho received the afflicting intelligence of the flight of Anne
from Whitehall. When the king saw he could no longer resist the tor-
rent of popular indignation, and that an imperious necessity required
that he should leave the kingdom, his first solicitude was to provide for
the safety of the queen and his son. The young prince was sent to Ports-
mouth, under the charge of Lord and Lady Powis, where thej' arrived
on the first of December. A j-aclit was in readiness to receive them on
board. Instructions had been privately sent to Lord Dartmouth, whose
Beet lay at Spithcad, to aid the escape of the prince ; but the admiral
being influenced by some of the disaffected officers, excused himself from
fulfilling the orders he had received. To prevent the danger of seizure,
the king ordered three regiments to escort the prince back to the capi-
tal, where arrangements were made by Caryll, the queen's secretary, to
effect his escape down the river.* The queen, who had hitherto re-
fused to leave the king, consented, on receiving an assurance from him
that he would follow her within twenty-four hours, to accompany the
prince, and, accordingly at two o'clock in the morning of the tenth of
December, she left Whitehall, disguised as an Italian lady, attended by a
female Italian servant, and the nurse carrying the young prince in her
aims. The whole party, although the night was dark and stormy,
crossed the river, and landed on the opposite side at Lambeth. Here
they expected to find a carriage in waiting to take them up, but unfor-
tunately it had not arrived. The rain fell in torrents, and the party was
obliged to shelter themselves under a high wall, exposed every moment
to the risk of detection ; but they were soon relieved from their perilous
situation, carried to Gravesend, and put on board a yacht, in which
were Lord and Lady Powis, and three Irish officers, who saw them safely
landed at Calais. The king was soon relieved of the extreme anxiety
he felt respecting them, by the arrival of St Victor, a French gentle-
man, who witnessed the departure of the yacht.f

The resolution of the king to quit the kingdom was hastened after a
fruitless attempt at negotiation with the prince of Orange, by the ap-
pearance of an infamous proclamation, issued under the signature of the
prince, which, though afterwards disowned by him, was believed to be
genuine at the time. In this paper, all catholics who attempted to exercise
any office in virtue of tlie roj'al authority, or who bore arms, or had arms
in their houses, were denounced as banditti, robbers, and freebooters, to
whom no quarter should be given, and all magistrates were called upon
to disarm them, under the penalty of being answerable for all the pro-
testant blood which might be spilt, and the property of the protestants
which might be destroyed, if the catholics were allowed, through their
negligence, to carry the dreadful designs imputed to them in the pro-

• Dalrymple 326—330. Memoirs of James, vol. ii., p. 233— 237.— Baiillon.
t James f Memoirs) vol. ii., p. 246 Barilloii-

Ill HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

clamation into efFtct.* Having, therefore, made up his mind to follow
the queen without delay, tlie king wrote a letter to tlie earl of Fevers-
ham, the commander of the forces, intimating iiis intention, and after
thanking him and tlie army for their loyalty, he informed them that he
did not wisli them any longer to run the risk of resisting " a foreign
array and a poisoned nation." This letter he delivered, on the evening
ofthe day of the queen's departure, to the Count de Roye, to be sent by
him to his brotlier, tlie earl, after which he retired to rest. He rose
shortly after midnight, and having disguised himself as a country gen-
tleman, he left the palace, and descending by the back stairs, entered into
a hackney coach, along with Sir Edward Hales, which conveyed them
to the Horse-ferry, whence they crossed the river, into which the king
threw the great seal. From Vauxhall they proceeded towards the ap-
pointed place of embarkation, and arrived at Emley ferry near Fevers-
ham by ten o'clock. Tliey embarked on board the custom-house hoy,
but before she could be got ready for sea the king was apprehended,
and placed under a strong guard.

An extraordinary sensation was created in London as soon as the
king's flight was known. The fury of the populace against the catholics,
which had been excited to the highest pitch by the proclamation alluded
to, now displayed itself in the demolition of the catholic chapels, and in
the plundering of the houses of the defenceless catholics. Tlie most
absurd rumours, scarcely exceeded by the extravagancies of Oates' plot,
were circulated by the disturbers of the public peace, and greedily
swallowed by the unthinking multitude.

When the king's arrest was first reported in London, the intelligence
was not believed ; but all uncertainty on the subject was removed by
a communication from James himself in the shape of a letter, but with-
out any address, which was put into the hands of Lord Mulgrave by
a stranger at the door of the council chamber at Whitehall. A body of
about thirty peers and bishops had, on the flight of the king, formed
themselves into a council, and had assumed the reins of government, and
many of these, on this letter being read, were desirous of taking no
notice of it, lest they might, by so doing, displease the prince. Lord
Halifax, the chairman, who favoured the prince's designs, attempted to
quash the matter, by adjourning the meeting, but Mulgrave prevailed
on the members of the council to remain, and obtained an order to
despatch the earl of Feversham with two hundred of the life-guards to
protect the person ofthe king.

On the arrival of Feversham the king resolved to remain in the king-
dom, and to return to London, a resolution which he adopted at tlie
urgent entreaty of Lord Winchelsea, whom, on his apprehension, he
had appointed lord-lieutenant of Kent. James was not without hopes
that the prince would still come to terms, and to ascertain his sentiment*

* Echaid p. 1127.

■hETURN OF THE KINt; TO LONDON. 1)5

lie sent Feversham to Windsor to invite the prince to a personal con-
ference in the capital, and to inform him tliat St James's palace would
be ready for his reception. The arrival of the earl with such a proposal
was exceedingly annoying to William and his adherents, the tbrraer o(
whom, on the supposition that the king had taken a final adieu of the
kingdom, had begun to act the part of the sovereign, while the latter
were already intriguing for the great offices of the state. Instead of
ixturning an answer to the king's message, William, on the pi-etence that
Feversham had disbanded the army without orders, and had come to
Windsor without a passport, ordered him to be arrested, and committed
a prisoner to the round tower, an order which was promptly obeyed.

At Rochester, whence he had despatched Feversham, the king was
met by his guards, and thence proceeded to London, wliich he entered on
the sixteenth of December amidst the acclamations of the citizens, and the
ringing of bells, and other popular manifestations of joy, a remarka-
ble proof of the instability and inconstancy of feeling which actuate
masses of people in popular excitements. Whatever were the ideas
of the king on this occasion as to his future prospects, the receipt of a
letter, almost upon his arrival in the capital, from William, of which
Zuleistein was the bearer, convinced him that he had now to do with
a man who not merely aspired to his crown, but who already con-
sidered himself invested with sovereign authority. In this letter, Wil-
liam desired his uncle not to advance nearer London than Rochester.
The letter of course was too late, and James having again expressed his
wish to Zuleistein for an interview with his son-in-law, the latter ob-
served that his master must decline it as he could not venture his person
among the royal troops. " Then," rejoined James, " let him come witii
his own guards to St James's, and I will dismiss mine ; for I am as well
without any, as with those whom I dare not trust." But, in truth, Wil-
liam had no intention whatever of ever meeting his uncle.*

As James conceived that the only chance he now had of securing
the confidence of his subjects and preserving his crown, consisted in
giving some signal proof of his sincerity to act constitutionall3', he, on
the morning following his interview with Zuleistein, made the humiliat-
ing offer to Lewis and Stamps, two of the city aldermen, to deliver himself
up into their hands on receiving an assurance that the civil authorities
would gurantee his personal safety, and to remain in custody till parlia-
ment should pass such measures as might be considered necessary for
securing the religion and liberties of the nation. But Sir Robert Clay-
ton dissuaded the common council from entering into any engagement
which the city might possibly be unable to fulfil, and thus a negotia-
tion was dropt, which, if successful, might have placed William in a
situation of great embarrassment.f

I James, Memoirs,
lirs) vol. ii-, p. 271.

ol. ii., p. 261-263-

-Great Biiuin's just complaint, p. a

116 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

But although James did not succeed in his offer to the city, his re^
turn to Whitehall had changed the aspect of affairs, and had placed
William in a dilemma from which he could only extricate himself by
withdrawing altogether his pretensions to the crown, or by driving ilia
uncle out of it by force ; but as he had already gone too far to adopt the
first alternative, he consulted his friends, not collectively as lieretofore,
but individually and privately, as to the measures that should be adopt-
ed to get rid of the king. To secure the person of the king, and confine
him a prisoner for life, seemed to be the most prevalent opinion among
the prince's advisers ; but William thought otherwise, and considered
that the most safe and prudent course he could pursue would be to force
James to leave the kingdom ; but in such a manner as to induce the
belief that he did so freely and of his own accord. Accordingly, to ex-
cite the king's alarms, a body of Dutch guards, by order of the prince,
marched into Westminster, and, after taking possession of the palace of
St James's, marched with their matches lighted to Whitehall, of which
they also demanded possession. As resistance, owing to the great dis-
parity of numbers, was considered by the king to be unavailing, he,
contrary to the opinion of Lord Craven, the commander of his guards,
who, though eighty years of age, offered to oppose the invaders, ordered
the guards to resign their posts, of which the Dutch took possession.
This event took place late in the evening of the sixteenth of Decem-
ber.*

The king, who was now in effect a prisoner within his own palace, over-
powered with anxiety, retired to his pillow for repose, and soon fell
asleep ; but he had not slept long when he was awakened by the earl of
Middleton, who lay in the adjoining antechamber, and who had been
roused from his slumbers by a loud knocking at the outer door, by some
pei'sons who demanded instant admission. These were the Lords
Shrewsbury, Delamere, and Halifax, who had been sent by the prince
from Sion-house with a message to the king. James received these
commissioners in bed. Halifax produced the instructions he and his
colleagues were intrusted with, which were to this effect, that the king
should quit Whitehall by ten o'clock next morning, as the prince meant
to enter London about noon, and that he should letire to Ham, a house
in Surrey belonging to the dowager duchess of Lauderdale, which had
been provided for his reception. The king objected to Ham as a resi-
dence being uncomfortable, but stated his willingness to return to Ro-
chester. Permission being granted by the prince, James left Whitehall
about twelve o'clock noon, after taking an affectionate adieu of his
friends, many of whom burst into tears. He embarked on board the
royal barge, attended by Viscount Dundee and other noblemen, and
descended the river, surrounded by several boats filled with Dutch

• Bu.kiiislwm. vol, ii., p. 23. James, vol. ii., p. 264- BarlUun.

OEPARTURE OF THE KING FOR FRANCE. 117

guards, in presence ot" an immense concourse of spectators, many of
whom witnessed with sorrow the humiliating spectacle.*

The king arrived at Rochester the following day from Gravesend,
where he had passed the previous night. Ho remained four da)'s at
Rocliester, where he received accounts from his adherents, many of
whom openly and freely visited him, of the prince's proceedings in the
metropolis, all of which evidently showed the prince's intentions to as-
sume the crown. For sometime James, in consequence of the conflict-
ing opinions of his trusty friends, was irresolute whether to remain in
England or to depart for France ; but a proposal which he made to
the bench of bishops, similar to that he had offered to the city of Lon-
don, having been slighted, he no longer hesitated as to the course lie
should pursue. Having resolved to withdraw immediately from the
kingdom, he drew up, the evening before his intended depar-
ture, a declaration of the motives which actuated him to leave the
kingdom. He stated that he had adopted this resolution from a feeling
of self-preservation, as he did not consider that his life would be safe
in the hands of a man v ho had, without provocation, invaded his do-
minions, treated him as a prisoner, orderetl him to quit his palace and
his capital, and endeavoured to blacken his character by propagating
the falsehood that he meant to palm a supposititious prince upon the na-
tion. He declared, that as he was born free, he wished to remain so ;
and that as he was not yet too old to hazard, as he had often done be-
fore, his life for his country, he was ready to do so again, whenever tht?
people, freed from the delusions under which they laboured, should call
on him to come forward, f

Having delivered this declaration to Lord Middleton, with instruc-
tions to publish it, and to whom, and other friends, he communicated
his intention of departing early next morning, the king retired to rest ;
but he remained only a short time in bed, and, accompanied by two
captains in the navy, his natural son the duke of Berwick, and a do-
mestic, went on board the Eagle fire-ship, being unable to reach, on
account of the unfavourable state of the weather, a fishing smack which
had been hired for his reception. On the following morning he went
on board the smack, and after a boisterous voyage of two days, arrived
at Ambleteuse, in France, on the twenty-fifth of December, and joined
his wife and child, at the castle of Germain's, on the twentj'-eighth
Thus ended the reign of a prince, who, whatever were his defects, was
certainly, to use the words of an elegant historian, " more unfortunate
than criminal." J

Considering the crisis to which matters had arrived, the course which
the king pursued of withdrawing from the kingdom was evidently the
most prudent which could be adopted. All his trusty adherents in

• James, Tol. ii., p. 265-267.

t Jiimes (Memoii-s), vol. ii. p. 273- EchaiH, p. IlSk

t Huin«.

lis HISTORY OF THB HIGHLANDS.

England were without power or influence, and in Scotland the duke of
Gordcin was the only nobleman who openly stood out for the interests ol
his sovereign. He had been created a duke by Charles II. James had
appointed him governor of the castle of Edinburgh, and he had been
thereafter made a privy-counsellor and one of the lords of the treasury.
Though a firm and conscientious catholic, he was always opjjosed to
the violent measures of the court, as he was afraid that however well
meant, they would turn out ruinous to the king ; not indeed that he did
not wish to see the professors of the same faith with himself enjoy the
same civil privileges as were enjoyed by his protestant countrymen, but
because he was opposed to the exercise of the dispensing power at a
time when the least favour shown to the professors of the proscribed
faith was denounced as an attempt to introduce popery. The king, in-
fluenced by some of his flatterers, received the duke coldly on his ap-
pearance at court in March, sixteen hundred and eighty-eight, and cur-
tailed some of his rights and privileges over the lands of some of his vas-
sals in Badenoch. Even his fidelity appeared to be questioned, by various
acts of interference with the atiairs of the castle, of which he disapproved.
He resented these indignities by tendering his resignation of the various
appointments he held from the crown, and demanded permission from
the king to retire beyond seas for a time ; but James put a negative
upon both proposals, and the duke returned to his post at Edinburgh. ♦
Notwithstanding the bad treatment he had received, the duke, true to
his trust, determined to preserve the castle of Edinburgh for the king,
although the prince of Orange should obtain possession of every other
fortress in the kingdom. He requested the privy council to lay in a
quantitj' of provisions and ammunition, but this demand was but par-
tially attended to, for though the garrison consisted only of a hundred and
twenty men, there was not a sufficiency of materials for a three months'
siege. After the tumult which took place in the city, the duke slmt
himself up in the castle, and invited the earl of Perth, the chancellor, to
join him ; but the earl declined the offer, and, in attempting to make his
escape to the continent, was seized near the Bass, in the Frith of Forth,
by some seamen from Kirkaldy, under a warrant from the magistrates
of that burgh, and committed to Stirling castle, where he remained a
close prisoner for nearly four years, -f A few days after the duke
had retired to the castle, an attempt was made by some of the
prince's adherents to corrupt the fidelitj' of the garrison, by circulating
a false report that the duke meant to make the whole garrison, who
were chiefly protestants, swear to maintain the catholic religion. A
mutiny was on the eve of breaking out, but it was detected by the vigi-
lance of some orticers. The duke, thereupon, drew out the garrison, assur
ed them that the report in question was wholly unfounded, and informed

• Gordon's HisU of Ihe F.imily of Gordon vol. ii. |>. ilS -6.
f Balcarras, p. 29.

CONVENTION OP ESTATES. 119

tliem that all he required of tlicni was to take tlic oath of allegiance to the
king, which being immediately tendered, was taken by the greater part
of the garrison. Those who refused were at ouce dismissed. To sup-
ply the deficiency thus made, the duke sent notice to Francis Garden
of Midstrath to bring up from the north forty-five of the best and most
resolute men he could find on his lands ; but, on their arrival at Leith,
a hue and cry was raised tliat the duke was bringing down papists and
Highlanders to overawe the protestants. To calm the minds of the
people, the duke ordered these men to return home.*

As soon as the news of the arrival of the [jrince of Orange in London,
and the departure of the king, was received in Edinburgh, an immense
concourse of persons, " of all sorts, degrees, and persuasions," wlio
•' could (says Balcarras) scrape so much together" to defray their ex-
penses, went up to London, influenced by motives of interest or pa-
triotism. The prince of Orange, who had fallen upon tlie wise expedient
of obtaining all the legal sanction which, before the assembling of a par-
liament, could be given to his assumption of the administration of public
affairs in England, by the concurrence of a considerable body of the
spiritual and temporal peers, and of a meeting composed of some mem-
bers who had sat in the house of commons during the reign of Charles
IL, and of the lord-mayor of London, and fifty of the common council; he
adopted the same expedient as to Scotland, and taking advantage of the
great influx into the capital of noblemen and gentlemen from that coun-
try, he convened them together. A meeting was accordingly held at
Whitehall, at wliich thirty noblemen and eighty gentlemen attended.
The duke of Hamilton, whose loyalty was regulated by the standard of
interest, and who aimed at the chief direction of affairs in Scotland, was
chosen president. At this meeting a motion was made by the duke that
a convention of the estates should be called as early as possible, and that an
address should be presented to tlie prince to take upon him the direction of
aflTairs in Scotland in the meantime ; but this motion was unexpectedly
opposed bj' the earl of Arran, the duke's eldest son, who proposed that
the king should be hn-ited back on condition that he should call a free
parliament for securing the civil aud religious liberties of Scotland. This
proposition threw the assembly into confusion, and a short adjournment
took place, but on resuming their seats, the earl's motion was warmly
opposed by Sir Patrick Hume, and as none of the members oft'ered to
second it, the motion was consequently lost, and the duke's being put to
the vote, was carried. For a justification of the conduct of the king's
friends, in withholding their support fi-om Arran's motion, reference-
may be had to the memoirs of Balcarras. f

A convention of the estates, called by circular letters from the prince,
was accordingly appointed to be held at Edinburgh, on the fourteenth ol
of March, sixteen hundred and eighty-nine, and the supporters of the

• Guriioii', Hibl. ofUie Tiiniily of Gordon, voL ii. p. 587— S. t Baliarras, (j. aS.

120 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

prince, as well as the aillierents of the king, prepared to depart lioma to
attend the ensuing election. But they were artfully detained by the
prince till he should be declared king, that as manj' as might fee! inclined
might seal their new-born loyalty by kissing his hand ; but the princo
had to experience the mortification of a refusal even from some of those
whom he had ranked amongst his warmest friends. Tlie earl of Balcar-
ras and Viscount Dundee, the former of whom had, as before mentioned,
been invested by the king with tlie civil, the latter with the military ad-
ministration of affairs in Scotland, were the first of either party who
arrived in Scotland, but not until the end of February, when the elec-
tions were about to commence. On their arrival at Edinburgh they
found the duke of Gordon, who bad hitherto refused to deliver up the
castle, though tempted by the mos'; alluring offers from the prince,
about to capitulate, but they dissuaded him from this step, on the
ground that the king's cause was not liopeless, and that the retention of
such an important fortress was of the utmost importance.

The elections commenced. The inhabitants of the southern and
western counties (for every protestant, without distinction, was allowed
to vote), alarmed for the extinction of their religious liberties, and ex-
cited by the recollection of the wrongs they and their forefathers had
suffered, gave their suffrages to the popular candidate, and the adherents
of the king soon perceived that the chances were against him. Yet,
when the convention met, a respectable minority seemed, notwithstand-
ing, to be in favour of the king, but who had neither the courage n.->r
address to oppose the popular current. To overawe, as is supposed,
the adherents of the king, or to prevent the convention from being
overawed by the troops in the castle, the duke of Hamilton and his
friends, a few days before the meeting of the convention, introduced a
considerable number of armed men into Edinburgh, some of whom were
concealed in cellars and houses, ready to act as occasion might require.
The first trial of sti'ength between the two parties took place on the
election of a president. To the duke of Hamilton the adherents of the
king opposed the marquis of Athole, who, in consequence of being
slighted by the prince, had promised his support to the royal party ;
but the duke ^^■as elected by a considerable majority. This vote sealed
the fate of the Tory party, and many who had hitherto wavered in their
allegiance now openly abandoned the cause of their sovereign. A com-
mittee was appointed to report upon disputed elections, but being com-
posed of the Whig party, many of the Tory returns, contrary to every
principle of law, were declared null. The consequence was, that within
a few days, the number of the adherents of the king was greatly re-
duced.

The first act of the convention was to send the earls of Tweeddale and
I, even, with an order to the duke of Gordon to deliver up the castle
within twenty-four hours. The duke, overcome by the smooth and
insinuating behaviour of Tweeddale, reluctantly yielded, and promised

COMMUNICATIONS OF THE KING AND THE PRINCE 121

to surrender the castle next morning at ten o'clock. When this ansM ei
was brouglit to the convention, Balcarras and Dundee were alarmed, and
immediately despatched a confidential servant to the duiie reminding him
of his promise to hold out, and imploring him not to give way. The duke
wavered, but on obtaining a writing which he required under the hands
of these noblemen that the retention of the castle was absolutely ne-
cessary for the success of the king's affairs, and being visited by Lord
Dundee the following morning, who impressed on him the importance
of holding out, he resolved to break with the convention ; and to pre-
pare matters in the north he despatched thither the earl of Dunferm-
line, his brother-in-law, to whom he granted a written commission,
authorising him to raise his friends and vassals in support of the
king.*

In conseciucnce of the refusal of tlie duke to deliver up the castle, he
was, by order of tlie convention, summoned by the heralds at the gate
of the castle to surrender, and a proclamation was read at the same
time prohibiting all persons from having any communication with him,
and promising a reward of six months' pay to the protestants in the gar-
rison who should seize him and deliver him and the castle up to the
convention. The duke addressed the heralds from within the gate, and
told them, that he ke|)t the castle by commission from their common
master, and would defend it to the last extremity ; and after handing
them some guineas, which he requested they would spend in drinking
the king's health, and the healths of all his loyal subjects, he facetiously
advised them not to proclaim men traitors with the king's coats on their
backs till tliey had turned them. Upon the departure of the heralds,
the duke drew out the garrison and gave tliem their option, either to re-
main in the castle and share with him the dangers that awaited them, or
to depart. Upwards of a tliird of the garrison took advantage of the
permission to depart, and left the castle on that and the following
day.f

Whilst matters were in this state, a messenger arrived with a letter
from William to the convention, and almost at the same time one Crane,
an Englishman, also arrived, who was the bearer of a letter to the same
body from the exiled monarch. A warm debate took place on the let-
ters being produced as to the order in which they should be read, but
on a vote being taken, it was decided that the prince's conmiunication,
which contained a proposal for the union of England and Scotland,
should be first read. Before reading or even opening James's letter,
however, the convention passed the following resolution : — " Forasmuch
as there is a letter from King James the Seventh presented to the meet-
ing of the estates ; that they, before opening thereof, declare and enact,

• Balcarras, p. 41—9 Gordon's Hist, of the Family of fi.irdcn, p. 502.
i Ibid. p. b9'i-i.
a. Q

122 HISTORY OF THE HlGHLANiJS.

tliat, notwithstanding any thing that may be contained in that lettci Tot
dissolving tiiem, or impeding tlieir procedure, yet that they are a free
and lawful meeting of the estates, and will continue undissolved until
they settle and secure tlie protestant religion, the government, laws,
anil liberties of the kingdoms." In this letter, James implored the con-
vention, as faithful subjects, to support his interests, and he informed
tliem, tliat should any attempt be made by foreigners to interfere with
them, he would afford them assistance. To all who should return to
their duty before the last day of the month, he offered pardon ; but he
declared his resolution to punish those who should resist his authority.
No answer was returned to this letter, and the bearer of it was doomed
to suffer a short imprisonment.

As the king's friends saw that any efforts they could make in the con-
vention after tlie reception his letter had met with, would be quite una-
vailing, they agreed at a private meeting which thej' held on the seven-
teenth of March, to repair to Stirling and there hold a convention by
themselves. This resolution was adopted agreeably to the wish of the
king himself, who, in anticipation of what would happen in the conven-
tion called by the prince, had sent a written authority, dated from Ire-
land, empowering tlie archbishop of St Andrews, the earl of Balcarras,
and Viscount Dundee, to call a meeting of the estates at Stirling.
Balcarras and Dundee received an assurance from the marquis of
Athole, who, ever since the cold reception he had met with from Wil-
liam, had been wonderfully loyal, that he would accompany them, and
a similar promise was obtained from the earl of Mar, governor of Stir-
ling castle. Athole, however, began to waver, a circumstance which
deferred the departure of the king's friends.

Here it may not be improper to notice a circumstance which pro-
bably had its weiglit in the deliberations preceding the departure of Dun-
dee. On the morning of sixteenth March, just as Lord Dundee was on
the point of going to the convention, he was waited upon by James Bin-
nie, a dyer, who informed him that he liad overheard a conversation the
day before among some persons of their intention of murdering him and
Sir George Mackenzie, and Binnie offered, if a warrant were granted
him, to apprehend them. Dundee immediately went to the convention
and applied for protection, but they refused to act in the matter, and
passed to the order of the day. Whether this affair w-as the device of
the Whig party, as has been supposed, to get quit of two individuals
particularly obnoxious to tin m, there are no means of ascertaining ; but
when the circumstances of tiie times, and the opinions then held by
many of the people are considered, the design of assassinating them is
(ar from improbable. *

IJut be this as it may, Dundee resolved to remain as short as possible

• Balcarras, p. 24. — Miinites of Convention, ICih Maiclu

DEPAnrrRE of Dundee from Edinburgh. 123

in a place where he might be every moment exposed to the dagger of the
assassin ; and, accordingly, he and his friends fixed on Monday the
eighteenth of iSIarch for their departure for Stirling. With the excep-
tion of Dundee, they all assembled at the appointed place of rendezvou--
in the city at the hour which had been fixed ; but as the marquis of
Athole, who had promised to accompany them and to protect them on
their arrival at Stirling with a body of his vassals, wished tliem to post-
pone tiieir departure till the following day ; they consented to remain,
and were in the act of dispersing and proceeding to the convention
when Dundee made his appearance. Such an unexpected resolution
greatly surprised him, but he told Balcarras, that whatever were the
views of his friends, he would not remain another day in Edinburgh.
Balcarras rf:monstrated with him, and represented, that his departure
would give the alarm to their enemies, who would not fail to take ad-
vantage of the discovery ; but he replied, that as he had a select body o)
between forty and fifty troopers ready mounted and prepared to start,
he would not remain any longer within the city, but would clear the
walls with his party and wait without for such friends as might choose
to join him. Dundee accordingly left the city at the head of his
troopers to go, as he is said to have emphatically replied to a friend
who put the interrogatory to him, wherever the spirit of Montrose
BJiould direct. After passing the Nether-bow port, he turned to the
left down Leith Wynd, and after clearing the suburbs of the Calton, he
faced to the west, and proceeded along the line of road known at the
time by the name of the Lang-gate, and which now forms the splendid
terrace of Princes' street. On arriving opposite tlie castle, Dundee
ordered his men to halt, and alighting from his horse, he clambered up
the steep precipice on the west side of that fortress, and from the bot-
tom of the wall held a conference with the duke of Gordon, who stood
in an adjoining postern gate immediately above. No account has been
preserved of the nature of the conversation which passed between these
two devoted adherents of the king, but it is understood that the vis-
count entreated the duke to hold out the castle as long as he could, and
that he would endeavour to raise the siege as soon as he had collected
sufficient forces.

The unexpected appearance of Dundee riding down the High Street
of Edinburgh in open day at the head of his troopers, had attracted a
considerable number of spectators, and before he reached the Lang-
gate, the whole population was in motion, many of whom lefl the city
and witnessed at some distance the interview between the two noble-
men. Intelligence of Dundee's deuarture, and his conference with the
duke, was immediately brought to the convention, which was sitting at
the time, and created a great sensation. Reports the most unfavourable
were raised, and brought by messengers to the convention, that crowds
were flocking to Dundee's standard, that their design was to attack tlie
convention, and that the duke ot Gordon meant to tire upon the city.

124r HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDfc.

In the midst of the contusion and alarm occasioned by these rumours,
tlie duke of Hamilton addressed the convention in a very angry tone,
and told them, that the time was now come when the members should look
to their own safety, and as he had no doubt there were enemies among
them who were privy to Dundee's designs, he proposed, in order to
prevent their escape, that the doors of the convention should be bolted
and the keys laid upon the table. This motion being agreed to, the
earl of Leven was directed to assemble some forces, which had been
brought into the city by the Tory lords, for their protection ; but their
fears were soon dispelled by the departure of Dundee for the west,
and by the return, to the city, of the inhabitants who had gone out to
witness the exhibition ; and whose appearance near Dundee's troopers,
had given rise to the report that they had joined him. The conven-
tion despatched a Major Bunting with a party of horse in pursuit,
but although he overtook Dundee, he had not the courage to attack him,
alarmed by a threat with which, it is said, Dundee menaced him, that
he would send him (Bunting) back to the convention, in a pair of blan-
kets, did he dare to molest him.* Dundee crossed Stirling bridge the
second day of his departure, and proceeded to his residence of Didhope
near Dundee, to ruminate over the events which had just passed, and
to concoct his plans, under the new and extraordinary circumstances in
which he was placed, for the restoration of Jaraes.f

• Life of Dundee,
t Before giving the details of Duiuit;2's insurruetion, the following short sketch vviU
not be out of place. John Graham, Viscount Dundee, descended from ihe royal line of
the Stuarts by the marriage of William, Lord Graham of Kincardine, his ancestor,
with the Princess Mary, second daughter of King Robert III., was the eldest son of
Sir William Graham of Claverhouse in Angus or Forfarshire. Besides a royal descent,
Viscount Dundee also claimed to be descended, through the family of Morphy in Mearns,
from the illustrious house of Montrose, and was also allied to the noble family of North-
esk by his mother, Lady Jean Camegy, who was third daughter of the first earl. Young
Graham entered the university of St Andrew's in the year sixteen hundred and sixty,
where lie acquired considerable distinction as a scholar. Mathematics were his favourite
study, in the knowledge of which he particularly excelled; and, perhaps, this predilec-
tion may have determined him to embrace a niilitarylife. He left the university in six-
teen hundred and seventy and went to France, into the service of which he entered as
a volunteer. He afterwards transferred his services to tlolland, and received the com-
mission of a cornet in one of the Prince of Orange's troops of guards. He distinguished
himself at the battle of Seneffe, in sixteen hundred and seventy four, by saving iJie life
of the prince, who had been dismounted, and carrying him off upon his own horse.
Having been rt^fused the command of one of the Scottish regiments in the employment
of the States, he left the Dutch service and returned to SttoUand in the year sixteen hun-
dred and seventy-seven, and was appointed by Cliarlt^s IL, captain of one of the regi-
ments then raising in Scotland for the suppression of the Whigs, in which service he
acquired from the unfortunate covenanters, on account of his alleged severities, tiie
unenviable appellation of "the bloody Ctavers." The confidence which Charles had
bestowed on Captain Graham was continued by his successor James, who, after promot-
ing him successively to the ranks of brigadier and major-genera), raised lum to the
peerage under the title of Viscount Dundee, on the twelfth of November, seven d.iyi
nfter the invasion of the prince of Orange.

CHAPTER VI.

nubious conduct of the king's adherents — Proceedings of' tiio sonvention^Arrival of

Major-gentTiil Mackay — Plan fur settling the govertiinuiit propd-sed and carried —
Crown of Scoland otfered to, and accepted of, by William and Mary— Attempt to
appreheiid Dundee, who escapes to the north — Retires to Inverness where he is joined
by Macdonutd of Keppocli— Mackay marches to the nort • and advances ui)on Inver-
ness— Dundee retires through Badenoch into Atiiole — Surprises Perth and appears
before the town of Dundee — Retires into Loclial>er — Colonel Ramsay arrives at
Perth, marches through Alhole — Retreats to Pei-tli — Advance of Mackay from Inver-
ness— Dundee marches into Badenoch— Mackay retreats throush Strathspey and en-
camps at Colmnakill — Disaffeciion among Mackay's troops — Ruthven Castle surren-
der to Dundee — Mackay retreats farther down Strathspey — Followed by Dundee —
Retreat of Dundee — Skirmish between Mackay's dragoons and the Macleans — Dun
dee retires into Locliaber — Disbands his forces — Return of jMackay to F-dinburgh.

The idea of setting up a coutiter convention at Stirling, was iinniedi-
ately abandoned on tlie departure of Dundee from the capital. The
marquis of Athole, whom the adherents of the king had chosen for
their leader, showed no disposition to follow Dundee, and the earl of
Mar, who, to save his loyalty made a feint to escape by the only guard-
ed way, was apprehended, not unwillingly, as is supposed, by the senti-
nels, and brought back, but was released on giving his parole that he
would not leave the city without the permission of the convention.
The ambiguous conduct of these two noblemen, tended to cool the
ardour of the few remaining adherents of the king, some of whom re-
solved to support the new order of things, whilst others, less pliant, ab-
sented themselves wholly from the convention. That assembly, after
passing an act approving of the conduct of the English convention, in
requesting the prince of Orange (now declared king of England) to
take upon him the administration of the affairs of that kingdom, ac-
knowledged their obligations to him as the assertor of their liberties,
and also entreated him to assume the management of the affairs of
Scotland. The coiivention, thereupon, despatched Lord Ross with a
letter to William, embodying these sentiments in answer to the com-
munication he had sent them, in which, moreover, they thanked him
for having called them together, and declared that they would take
effectual measures for the security of religion, and the laws and liberties
of the kingdom.

Popular as the steps were which the convention were about to take,
for settling the government of the nation, with the great body of the
people, they were not insensible to the probability of a formidable op-

126 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

position being raised to their plans, by a bold and determined band oi
royalists in the north, who, headed by such a warlike and experien-
ced commander as Dundee, might involve the whole kmgdom in a civil
war. To prepare therefore against such an eniergencj', the convention,
before proceeding to the important business for which it had assembled,
issued a proclamation requiring all persons from sixteen to sixty, and cap-
able of bearing arms, to put themselves in readiness to take the field
when called upon : they deprived all militia officers, suspected of at-
tachment to the king, of their commissions, and filled up the vacancies
thus occasioned, by others on whom they could reh'. Sir Patrick
Hume, who lay under an attainder for the part he took in Argyle's re-
bellion, was appointed to the command of the horse militia, and the
earl of Leven was nominated to the command of a body of eight hun
dred men, raised for a guard to the city of Edinburgh.

Backed by these, and by about eleven hundred men of the Scotch bri-
gade from Holland, which arrived at Leith from England, on the twenty
fifth of March, under general Mackay, as major-general of all the
forces in Scotland, * and by a force of two hundred dragoons which
were also sent from England ; the leaders of the convention proposed
that a committee of eight lords, eight knights, and eight burgesses,
should be appointed to prepare and report upon a plan of settling the
government. The archbishop of Glasgow and a few other adherents
of the king, who still remained in the convention, made a bold stand

• General Hugh Mackay was son of Coioiicl Hugh Slackay of .Scowry. He first
entered the Venetian service, in which he distinguished himself. Leaving the service of
that republic, he went to France, where he obtained a captaincy in Douglas's regiment.
After serving under Marshall Tureinie, in the campaign in the Netherlands, in sixteen
hundred and seventy-two, cjiptain Mackay offered his services to the prince of Orange,
who gave him the commission of Major in one of the Scotch regiments, then serving in
Holland. After reaching the rank of Colonel in the Dutch service, Mackay was invited
to England by James II., from whom, on the fourth of June, sixteen hundred and
eighty-five, he received the appointment of major-general, or commander in chief, of the
forces in Scotland ; and he was admitted a memher of the Scottish privy council, by virtue
of a warrant from the kiiiL', dated the eighteenth of the same month. But disliking the
arbitrary proceedings of James, or preferring the service of his son-in law, Mackay re-
signed his commission and returned to Holland. Tlie prince raised him to the rank of
major-general, and gave him the command of tlte British regiments, with which he
invaded England. By a warrant signed by William and ^lary, dated from Kensington,
fourth Januar;, sixteen hundred aiid eighty-nine, Mackay was appointed "major-
general of all forces whatever, wittin our ancient kingdom of Scotland," This assump-
tion of the sovereign authoiity without waiting for tlie determination of the convention,
was guarded against by the following entry in their records : *' Edinburgh, 28th March,
1689. The estates of this kingdom considering that the king of England, in pursuance,
of his acceptation of tlie administration of the public affairs of this kingdom, till tho
meeting of the estates had sent down Major-general Mackay, with some Scots regiments
inirier his command, for the security of the estates, and genen.l peace of tiie kingdom;
Ihey do acknowledge the great kindness and care of the king of England; and do hereby
warrant and authorise the said Major-general Rlackay, to command any forces, eithci
standing or to be raised, with the militia, within this kingdom. &c." Mackay mat
raised to the rank of lieiitcnant-fencral in Ift'ld, aird "a< killed at the haUle of Steinkirk.
3d August, 1692.

WILLIAM AND MAKY DECLARED SOVEREIGNS! OF SCOrLANU 127

against siioh an appointment, but tlipy were outvoted. Tiin committee,
after considerable discussion, agreed to the following resolution on the
motion of Sir John Dalrymple, who, in a speech of powerful reasoning,
exposed the unmeaning application of the term abdicate, which had
been used by the English convention, in answer to some members, wlio
proposed that the committee should adopt the same form of proceeding.
" The estates of the kingdom of Scotland, find and declare, that King
James the Seventh being a profest papist, did assume the royal power,
and act .as a king without ever taking tiie oath as required by law ;
and had. by the advice of evil and wicked counsellors, invaded the fun-
damental constitution of this kingdom, and altered it from a legal and
limited monarchy, to an arbitrary despotic power, and had govern-
ed the same to the subversion of the protestant religion, and violation
of the laws and liberties of the nation, inverting all the ends of govern-
ment, whereby he had forfaulted the right of the crown, and the throne
was become vacant." Upon the bringing up of the report, this vote was
warmly opposed by Ross, bishop of Edinburgh, who proposed that the
king should be invited to return to his Scottish dominions; but the bish-
op had few supporters, and the report was approved of by a very great
majority.

The throne being then declared vacant, the convention, on tlie mo-
tion of the duke of Hamilton, appointed the committee to draw up an
act for settling the crown of Scotland upon William and iMary, and
they were also instructed to prepare an instrument or declaration for pre-
venting a recurrence of the grievances, of which the nation complaiuLd.
On the eleventh of April, the committee made their report, which was
immediately passed into a law without opposition, and solemnly proclaim-
ed same day at the market cross of Edinburgh, in presence of the lord
provost and magistrates of the city, and a large concourse of the no-
bility and gentry. A proclamation was published at the same time, pro-
hibiting all persons from acknowledging, corresponding with, or assist-
ing the late king, and forbidding them in any way from disputing or
disowning t!ie new sovereigns, or from misconstruing the proceedings of
the estates, under severe penalties. The earl of Argyle on the part of
the lords, Sir James Montgomery for the knights, and Sir John Dal-
rymple for the burghs, were thereupon despatched to London to offer
the crown to William and Mary, on the conditions stipulated by the
convention. The commissioners were introduced to their majesties at
Whitehall, on the eleventh of Maj', and were of course well received,
but on the coronation oath being presented to them by the earl of Ar-
gyle, William, who was rather disposed to support episcopacy in Scot-
land, demurred to take it, as it appeared by a clause which it contained,
importing that their majesties should root out heresy, and all enemies
to the true worhip of God, to lay him under an obligation to become
a persecutor. This difficulty, which it is evident was well founded, was

128 HISTORY OF TUB HIGHLANDS.

however got over by the commissioners declaring tliat such was not thf
meaning or import of the oath.

The convention having thus completed the object tor which it was as-
sembled, adjourned to the twenty-first day of May, not however til! it
had passed an act at utter variance with those principles of constitu-
tional liberty, which it professed to establish. By this act the duke of
Hamilton was vested with full power and authority to imprison any per-
son he mistht suspect of disaffection to the new government, a violent
and arbitrary measure certainly, which nothing but the extraordinary
circumstances of the times could justify. The earl of Balcarras and
viscount Dundee, were marked out as the first victims of this unconsti-
tutional law. The latter had been already proclaimed an outlay and a
rebel by the convention, for absenting himself from its meetings, but he
had hitherto made no movement, in consequence of instructions from
the king, desiring him not to take the field till a force of five thousand
foot, and three hundred horse, which he promised to send him from
Ireland, should land in Scotland. These instructions, which had been
privately sent to him by a messenger named Hay, were again renew-
ed by one Brady, whom the king sent from Ireland, but who having
incautiously made one Thomson, who accompanied him to Scotland,
privy to them, he was apprehended, and being brought before tlie duke
he confessed the whole affair, and delivered up the letters, of which he
was the bearer.

This discovery hastened the determination of the duke to arrest
Balcarras and Dundee, who accordingly despatched the earl of Leven
with a party of two hundred men to apprehend them. Balcarras was
seized at his country seat, carried to Edinburgh, and imprisoned in the
common jail, from which he was afterwards transferred to the castle
after its surrender ; but Dundee, who had received notice of the approach
of the party, retired from his house at Dudhope to another country seat,
named Glengilby, or Glenoglevy, which he also abandoned for the
mountains, on the appeai'ance of Sir Thomas Livingston at the head
of a body of dragoons.

The favourable reception which James had met with in Ireland, and
t!ie discovery which the adherents of William in Scotland had made of
iiis intention to land an army in Scotland, joined to the fact that the
great body of the Highlanders, and almost the whole of the episcopal
|)arty in the north were hostile to the recent change in the government,
could not fail to excite alarm in tiie minds of the partizans of the new
dynasty. The brilliant achievements of Montrose had shown how ina-
dequate the peaceful inhabitants of the south, though impelled by the
spirit of religious fanaticism, were to contend with the brave and hardy
mountaineers of the north, and as Dundee, as they were aware, was
desirous of emulating his great predecessor, and was engaged in an
active correspondence with the Highland chiefs, they must necessarily

DEl'AlllL'RE OF MACKAY FOR THE NORTH.

129

have looked forward to a long and bloody, and perhaps a doubtful
contest.

As Dundee possessed the confidence of the Highland clans, and as he
looked chiefly to thera for support in his attempt to restore the exiled
monarch, Viscount Tarbat, one of the ablest politicians of the period,
proposed a plan for detaching the chiefs from the cause of James, some
of whom he averred were not so inimical to William nor so attached to
James, as was supposed, but who, jealous of the power of Argyle, wera
justly apprehensive that if, as appearances indicated, that nobleman ac-
quired an ascendancy in the national councils, he would make use of his
|)ower to oppress them, and would obtain a revocation of the grants of
certain lands which belonged to his family and which had been forfeited in
the reign of Charles II. Besides these reasons, there was another which
was supposed to influence others in their determination to restore the
fallen dynasty, and thereby crush the rising power of .Argyle, viz. that
they were greatly in arrears to him as his superior. Tarbat, therefore,
suggested to General Mackay, that an attempt should be made, in the
first place to obtain the submission of these last by making them an offer
to discharge Argyle's claims against their lands, which he computed would
amount to £5000 sterling, and that a separate offer should be made to
the chief of the Macleans to make good a transaction which had been in
part entered upon between him and the late earl for adjusting their dif-
ferences. This plan was approved of by the English government, but
the affair is said to have been lyarred by the appointment of Campbell
of Cawdor as negotiator, who was personally obnoxious to the chiefs.
Mackay attempted to open a correspondence with Cameron of Lochiel
on the subject, but could obtain no answer, and Macdonell of Glen-
gary, to whom he also made a communication, heartily despising the
bribe, advised the general, in return, to imitate the conduct of General
Monk, by restoring James.*

On leaving his residence at Glenoglevy, Dundee crossed the Dee, and
entered the duke of Gordon's country, the inhabitants of which were
friendly to the cause of James and where he was joined by about fifty
horse under the earl of Dunferndine, who, as has been stated, was sent
north by the duke of Gordon to raise his vassals in support of his royal
master. Whilst Dundee was occupied in raising forces in this district,
Mackay was despatched from Edinburgh with a considerable body of
troops in pursuit. Mackay appointed the town of Dundee as the rendez-
vous for his troops, being the best station he could select for keeping the
adjoining country, which was disaffected to the new government, in awe,
and whence he could send parties to the north to watch the motions of
Dundee. On arriving at Dundee, Mackay, leaving a part of his troops
there under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Livingston, proceeded
north with a body of about five hundred men, consisting of nearly an equal

• Markay's Memoirs.

I

130 HIST0R1 OF THE HIGHLANDS.

number of horse and foot, in quest of the viscount. At Brechin he re-
ceived intelligence that Dundee, ignorant of course of Mackay's move-
ments, was on his return to his seat of Glenoglevy in the braes of Angus,
that he had already passed the Cairn-a-mount, and that he was ex.
pected to pass the night at Fettercairn, only a few miles north from Bre-
chin. To prevent all knowledge of his approach, Mackay posted a party
of fifty dragoons and a similar number of foot under his nephew Major
.Eneas Mackay, at the north-water or Gannachy bridge, for the purpose
of preventing any communication during the night with Fettercairn,
and with the intention of entering the village by break of day and sur-
prising Dundee ; but the viscount, who had been apprized of Mackay's
movements, avoided the snare and recrossed the Dee.

As soon as Mackay was informed of this retrograde movement, he re-
solved to pursue Dundee, and, if possible, to overtake him before he
should have time to collect any considerable body of forces. With a
small but select body of horse and foot, therefore, he crossed the Dee
at Kincardine, in the expectation of being joined in the course of his
nuirch by some country gentlemen wlio had given him assurances of
support before leaving Edinburgh. In this expectation however he was
sadly disappointed, for, with the exception of the master of Forbes, who
met him after he had crossed the Dee, with a party of forty gentlemen of
his name on horseback and a body of between five and six hundred men
on foot, not one of them showed any inclination to join him. The
fact was, that, with few exceptions, the people residing to the north
of the Taj', were either indifferent to the course of events, or were op-
posed upon principle to any change in the hereditary succession to the
crown, which many of them considered an infraction of tlie divine law,
and which they believed no misconduct on the part of the king could
justify. No man knew these things better than Dundee, who calculated
that by means of this feeling he would soon be able to arouse the war-
like north against the more peaceful south. But valuable as such a
body of auxiliaries as that brought by the master of Forbes may be sup-
posed to have been under these circumstances, Mackay, v.ho had been
accustomed to the finest troops in Europe, considered that they would be
of no service to him, as, according to his own account, they were " ill
armed," and appeared " little like the work" for which they were intend-
ed. He therefore declined the services of the Forbeses in the mean-
time, and after thanking the master for having brought them together,
he ordered him to dismiss them to their homes, with instructions that
they should re-assemble whenever a necessity occurred for defending
their own country against the inroads of Dundee.

Having received intelligence of Dundee's route througli Strathdon to-
wards Strathbogie, Mackay continued his march in that direction through
Aberdeenshire and Moray. On arriving at Strathbogie, he was informed
that Dundee had crossed the Spey with about one hundred and fifty horse
without opposition, although Mackay had given particular instruction to

DUNDKE ARRIVES AT INVERNESS JOINED BY KEPPOCH. 131

the laird of Grant, wnile in Euinourgli, to occupy all the Fords ot that river.
Mackay also learned, on the t'oUowing day, by a letter sent to him by the
magistrates of Elgin, wiiich had been addressed to them by Dundee, that
the viscount was at Inverness, that he had been there joined by Mac-
donald of Keppoch at the head of a thousand Highlanders, and that he
intended to make Elgin his head quarters preparatory to an attack upon
INIackay. The accession of the Macdonalds was of immense importance
to Dundee, and was as seasonable as unexpected. The cause of their
assembling was this. A deadly feud had for some time existed between
Macdonald and Mackintosh, arising out of certain claims by the former
upon the lands of the latter; and to such a pitch of armed violence did
Keppoch carry his pretensions, that James II. felt himself called upon to
interfere, by issuing a commission of fire and sword against him as a rebel.
Keppoch, taking advantage of the unsettled state of the government, re-
newed his claims against Mackintosh ; and having defeated the Mackin-
toshes in battle, he had advanced to Inverness, the inhabitants of which
liad supported the Mackintoshes against him, and was threatening to wreak
his vengeance upon them if they did not purchase forbearance by paying
him a large pecuniary fine. It was at this critical moment that Dundee
arrived, who, anxious at once to secure the aid of Keppoch and the
friendship of the citizens of Inverness, who had only a few days before
proclaimed the prince of Orange, interposed between them and their
exasperated foe, by granting the haughty chief his own bond in behalf
of the town, b}' which he obliged himself to see Keppoch paid the sum
of two thousand dollars as a compensation for the losses and injuries he
alleged he had sustained at the hands of the Mackintoshes. To re-
concile the two chieftains, with the view of obtaining the co-operation of
both, was the next object of Dundee, but Mackintosh refused to attend
a friendly interview solicited by Dundee; and to punish him for his ob-
stinacy, Keppoch, at the desire of the viscount, drove away his cattle,
part of which was kept for the use of the army, and the rest was appro-
priated by Keppoch's tenants.*

The news of the junction of the Keppoch Highlanders with Dundee,
and of their intention to march to the south, was exceedingly discon-
certing to INIackay, who had advanced into a hostile country with a
handful of troops quite incapable of resisting the powerful force now
opposed to them. The obvious and apparently most prudential course
which presented itself, was, on the approach of the enemy, to make a
sure and as slow a retreat as possible, and to bring up the forces which he
had left behind him ; but Mackay, rightly judging that a retreat, beside?
giving Dundee the command of a large tract of country favourable to
his views, might create an impression that his adversary was much
stronger than he really was, resolved not only to stand firm, but even to
cross the Spey, and take possession of Elgin before Dundee should arrivti
there. Accordingly, after despatching a courier to bring up his iw»
* Memoirs of Dundee.

132 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

eervesfrom Brechin without delay, he crossed the Spej' and advanced upon
I'.lgin, with his dragoons at a hard trot, followed by two hundred veteran
foot, wlio were so desirous of coming to action that they kept up with
tlie horse the whole way from the river to the town. From Elgin,
Mackay despatched messengers to some of the principal Whig proprie-
tors in Moray, Ross, and Sutherland, desiring them to prepare them-
Bflves for joining him as soon as they should receive liis orders.

Mackay lay a few days at Elgin in expectation of Dundee's advance ;
but as he did not appear, Mackay, who had just received a reinforce-
ment of horse from Brechin, left Elgin and took the road to Inverness.
When he reached Forres, he ascertained that Dundee had left Inverness,
and had crossed the heights of Badenoch on his way to Athole.
It is said that Dundee intended to have advanced upon Elgin, and to
bave engaged Mackay, but he was counteracted in his design by the re-
fusal of a party of Canierons, who were under Keppoch, to march without
the consent of their chief. The real cause appears to be, that having
taken a considerable quantity of booty, they were desirous of securing it
before meeting the enemj'. Mackay continued his march to Inverness,
ivhcre he was joined by five hundred of the Mackays, Grants, and Rosses.
From Inverness, he despatched couriers to the adherents of the new
government in the north to join him ; and at the same time sent an
express to Colonel Balfour at Edinburgh, to despatch Colonel Ramsay
north with a select body of six hundred men to be drawn from the
Dutch regiments. To effect as speedy a junction with him as possible,
Mackay directed that Ramsay should march through Athole and
Badenocii.

Dundee, on the otlier hand, was no less busy in liis preparations for the
ensuing campaign. He never ceased to carry on an active correspond-
ence with many of the Highland chieftains whose confidence he possess-
ed ; and on his march through Badenoch he received the most gratifying
assurances of support from the gentlemen of tliat country, with the ex-
ception of Mackintosh, who, as has been stated, had his cattle carried otf
by Duntiee'sorders. Having fixed upon Lochaber as the most central and
convenient district for mustering his forces, Dundee appointed the
friends of King James to assemble there on the eighteenth of May, and
in the meantime he descended into Athole, with a body of one hundred
and fifty horse, where he met with a cordial reception from Stewart of
Ballechan, factor or steward to the marquis of Athole, and from the
otlier vassals of the marquis. Whether Stewart and the otiier gentle-
men of the district, in taking this decided part, acted from a private
understanding with their chief, who still remained at Edinburgh, where
he had given in an equivocal adherence to the government, or whether
they were yet ignorant of the course he meant to follow, are questions
which, for want of information, do not admit of solution, but the omis-
sion on the part of the manpiis to send instructions to Stewart to raise a
body of four hundred Athole Higldanders, to oppose the passage of

ENTUY OF DUNDEE INTO PERTH. 133

Dundee through his bounds to the south, should he attempt it, to which
rrtbet lie had pledged himself to Mackay, before the latter left Edin-
burgh for the north, raises a suspicion that the gentlemen of Athole
acted agreeably to the understood wishes of their chief.

Being informed that the lairds of Blair and Pollock were lying in
Pertii with a troop of horse, which they had raised for the service of the
government, Dundee determined to surprise them, and accordingly he
left Atliole, and proceeded with celerity during the night towards Perth,
which he entered unawares early next morning, and seized both these
gentlemen and two other officers in their beds and carried them ofF
prisoners. He also took away thirty horses and a sum of nine thou-
sand merks of the public revenue whicli he found in the office of the
collector ; but in accordance with the principle which he says he had laid
down for the rule of his conduct, to do nothing but "for conscience and
loyalty's sake," he prohibited every interference with private property ;
and though he found a sum of about five hundred pounds in the same
room where the cess and excise duties, which he carried off, lay, he left
it untouched when he understood that it was private property. Leaving
Perth, Dundee ranged through Angus, augmenting his horse, and after
an ineffectual attempt to surprise Lord RoUo, who was raising a troop of
horse, he appeared before the town of Dundee, then guarded by two
troops of Livingston's dragoons. Their commander, unwilling to en-
counter Dundee, shut himself up in the town, and the viscount, after
spending two nights at Dudhope, ids country seat, returned to the
Highlands, to meet his friends at the appointed place of rendezvous.

During all this time, Mackaj' remained at Inverness, waiting for the
arrival of Ramsay's detachment from the south, which he had long and
anxiously looked for, but which was detained from a cause of which he
was ignorant. The cause was this. In conformity with Mackay's
orders, Colonel Balfour immediately put the troops under Colonel
Ramsay in readiness to march, but just as they were about to pass
across the Frith of Forth, from Leith to Burntisland, an alarm was
created by the appearance of a large number of vessels at the mouth of the
Frith, which were at once supposed to be a French fleet with troops on
board for tlie purpose of making a descent upon tlie coast in support of
Dundee. As the seizure of the capital, it was naturally supposed, would
be the first object of the invaders, the embarkation of Ramsay's detach-
ment, which in such an event would be necessary for its defence, was
countermanded ; but in two or three days the fears of the government
were dispelled, by having ascertained that the fleet in question consisted
of a number of Dutch herring busses which were proceeding on their
annual voyage to their fishing stations on the northern coast. This
delay occasioned great embarrassment to the operations of Mackay,
and almost proved fatal to hira, as Dundee was thereby enabled to
throw himself with a large force between Mackay and Ramsay's corjis,
and to threaten both with annihilation.

134 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

In terms of his instructions, Ramsay, after reacliing Pertli, proceeded
through Atlicle, on his way to Inverness. Though tlie Athole-men,
many of whom he found armed, offered no opposition to his march, yet
as every thing around him assumed a warlike appearance, and as re-
ports were continually brought to him, that Dundee had placed
himself between him and iNIackay, with a very large force, he grew
alarmed, and so strong had his fears become when within a dozen of
miles of Ruthven in Badenoch, that he resolved to return to Perth.
He had previously despatched a letter to Mackay, informing him of his
advance, and appointing him to meet him at Ruthven on a given day,
but he neglected to send another express acquainting Mackay of his
design to return to Perth. The retreat of Ramsay was disorderly, and
some of his men deserted. The Athole men, who kept hovering about
him, were desirous of attacking him, bat they were prevented, though
with ditRculty, by the gentlemen of the district. It was on a Saturday
night that Mackay received Ramsay's despatch, and so anxious was
the general to form a speedyjunetion with Ramsay's detachment, that he
left Inverness the following morning, taking with him only two days'
provisions. When about half way between Inverness and Ruthven, he
received an express from the governor of the castle, informing him
of Ramsay's retreat, and that Dundee had entered Badenoch on Sunday
morning, (the morning of Mackay 's march from Inverness) with an im-
mense force, and was within a few miles of the castle.

To understand the cause of this speedy movement on the part of Dun-
dee, it is necessary to state, that two or throe days before Ramsay's
arrival in Athole, Stewart of Ballechan had intercepted a despatch
from Mackaj^ which he forwarded to Dundee, and who, in consequence,
became acquainted with their plan of uniting their forces. To counteract
which, and that he might have an opportunity of successively attacking,
and probably destroying both divisions, he had hastened from the place
of rendezvous in Lochaber into Badenoch, with a force of two thousand
men, which was shortly increased to three thousand. Yet, notwith-
standing the discovei'y thus made by Dundee of Mackay 's intentions,
the information would not have availed him, had Ramsay, instead of
being intimidated by the false intelligence he received, continued his
march ; for, according to Mackay 's own calculations, he might have
reached Ruthven on Saturday night, before Dundee entered Badenoch,
and, even if Dundee had followed him, he could have made a safe re-
treat into the laird of Grant's territory, where he would have been sup-
ported by a body of seven or eight hundred men.*

The first person who had met Dundee in Lochaber on the appointed
day was Glcngary, who had with him a body of between two and three
hundred men. He was followed by Macdonald of Morer, at the head
of nearly two hundred of Clan Raualil's men, and by Apjjin and Glen-

RETREAT OF MACKAY THROUGH STRATHSPEV. 135

CO, with about the same number of men. Dundee had been subse-
quently joined by Lochiel, who had six hundred men under liim, and
bj' Keppoch, at the head of two hundred ; but Sir Alexander Maclean,
who had promised also to attend, failed to appear.

The intelligence communicated by the commander of Ruthven castle
was exceedingly perplexing to Maekay, who must have felt keenly the
disappointment of Ramsay's flight. He saw himself with a handful of
men surrounded by a warlike and hostile population, and within a short
march of a powerful force, which he could not singly resist — with few
friends on whom he could place much reliance, and who, either luke-
warm in the cause for which he had taken the field, or indifferent to the
result of the ensuing contest, were ready to desert him when fortune
should appear to declare against him. He had, in the unfortunate si-
tuation in which he was placed, only a choice of evils before him. Tc
have proceeded on his march with the view of cutting his way through
the enemy, would have been, even if practicable, an imprudent and
very dangerous step, end to have taken up a position in a district where
he would have been exposed to be surrounded and cut off from his re-
sources, would have been equally rash. He had, therefore, no alterna-
tive which he could prudently adopt, but either to fall back upon In
verness, or retire down the vale of the Spey. He preferred the lattei
course for these reasons, that although such amovement would leave Inver-
ness quite exposed to Dundee's army, that disadvantage would be more
than counterbalanced by the protection which would be thereby afforded
to the laird of Grant's lands, near the borders of which Dundee was
now hovering, and by tlie obstruction which the interposition of Mae-
kay's troops would present to any attempt on the part of Dundee to re-
cruit his army in the duke of Gordon's country. Besides, by making
Srathspey the scene of his operations, Maekay expected to be able to
keep up a communication with the south through Angus and Aberdeen-
shire, and the adjoining parts of Moray, which he could not maintain if
he returned to Inverness.

Accordingly, after despatching an express to Inverness, apprizing
the garrison of his intentions, and promising assistance, should Dundee
venture to attack the town, Maekay began a rapid march towards
Strathspey, which he continued during the night, and did not halt till
he had descended a considerable way down that vale. Dundee, who
had closely pursued him, afraid of exposing his men to the attacks of
Maekay 's cavalry, did not follow him after he had gained the flatter
part of the Strath, but kept aloof at the distance of some miles in a
more elevated position where he encamped. Notwithstanding his in-
feriority in point of numbers, the revolutionary general determined to
endeavour to allure Dundee from his stronghold by offering him battle,
and having refreshed his men, wearied by a long march of twenty-fouf
hours, he advanced next morning to within a mile of Dundee's camp,
and, afler reconnoitering the position of the enemy, made preparations

136 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

for receiving them ; but Dundee, secure from danger, by the nature o
the ground he occupied, showed no disposition to engage. It is pro
bable that, in acting thus passively, he was influenced by the conduc
of tlie highlanders, who were averse to engage with cavalry, and some
of whom (the Camerons, according to Mackay,) tied to the neiglibour-
ing hills on Mackay 's approach. Seeing no hope of drawing the vis-
count out of his trenches, Mackay returned in the evening to his camp,
which he removed the following day to Colmnakill, about six miles lower
down the Spej', where he considered himself more secure from any
sudden surprise or attack, and where he was speedily joined by two
troops of Livingston's dragoons from Dundee. The ground occupied
by Mackay was a spacious plain, bounded on the south by the Spey,
which effectually protected his rear, whilst his front was covered by a
wood and some marshes which skirted the plain on the north. The
right of Mackay 's position was protected by a small river with a
rough and stony bottom. The general himself took up his quarters at
Belcastle, a summer-house in the neighbourhood belonging to tlie
laird of Grant, whence he despatched ten or twelve of Grant's tenants,
selected by Grant himself as the most intelligent and trustworthy, to
watch and bring him notice of Dundee's motions. These scouts kept
up a constant communication with Mackay, who received a personal re-
port from one or other of them almost every alternate hour. In the mean-
time, he kept his whole army under arms, and to prevent surprise, small
parties of horse and dragoons patrolled the neighbouring woods, and
some foot were stationed along the banks of tlie little river on the right.
But these precautions would probably have been unavailing, if the go-
vernment general had not timeously been made acquainted with the
(act, that there were enemies in his camp who were watching an o|)por-
tunity to betray him.

For some time, a report had been current that Livingston's regiment
of dragoons were disaffected to the government ; but as Mackay could
not trace the rumour to any authentic source, he disbelieved it, and to
mark his confidence in their fidelity, he had ordered the two troops « hich
were stationed at Dundee to join him in the north. But two days after
their arrival at Colmnakill, an occurrence took place which confirmed
the report, and excited the most alarming apprehensions in the mind of
the general. Two deserters having arrived from Dundee's camp, were
brought before Mackay for examination. As one of them was recog-
nised as having been a sergeant in Wauchope's regiment in England,
from which he had deserted, the general suspected him to be a spy, and
threatened to punish him as such if he did not give a satisfactory ac-
count of himself This man thereupon requested a private interview
with IMackay ; and all the officers, with the exception of Sir Thomas Li-
vingston, having withdrawn, he informed the general, that with few ex-
ceptions, all the dragoon officers had entered into a conspiracy to betray
him ; and he named Lieutenant Colonel Livingston, and Captains Mui--

TREACHERY OF LIVINGSTONS DRAGOONS.

137

ray, Livingston, and Crichton, ami Lieutenant Murray, as the riufj-
leaders. In answer to a demand made l)y iMackay lor proofs of tliis asser-
tion, the deserters informed him, that they had heard Dundee frequently
assure the chiefs of the clans that he could depend upon the dragoons'
in proof of which they had seen him read letters from his lady to that
effect, and heard him inform the chiefs, that till he saw a favourable
opportunity for requiring the services of the dragoons, he would allow
them to remain in tlie enemy's camp, where they miglit be useful to
him. The deserters concluded by informing Mackay that they had not
left Dundee's camp altogether of thejf own accord, but partly at the
instigation of the lairds of Blair and Pollock, who had been carried
about by Dundee as prisoners ever since their capture at Perth, and
who were anxious to prevent Mackay from engaging, under these cir-
cumstances, with such a small party of troops as he then had.

This information, though calculated to shake the general's confidence
in the fidelity of these dragoons, was too vague and unsatisfactory to
be relied upon. Mackay appears at first to have had some doubts
of the truth of the statement ; but his unwillingness to believe the
accusation gave place to an opposite impression when, after ordering
the deserters to be confined in Belcastle, and threatening them with
exemplary punishment should it turn out that they were sjiies sent by
Dundee, they expressed themselves quite satisfied to abide the result of
any investigation he might institute.

On the removal of the deserters, IMackay requested Sir Thomas Li-
vingston's opinion as to the correctness of the information which had
been communicated by them respecting the officers of his regiment.
The colonel, who, according to Crichton, was secretly a partizan of the
exiled sovereign, told Mackay, that he did not believe that the private
men were, perhaps, with a very few exceptions, aware of any plot ; but
he stated, that he himself had of late begun to suspect the fidelity of
the officers named, especially since the recent junction of the two
troops, as he had often seen them in serious conversation together,
which they immediately dropt on his approach. Mackay, though now
satisfied that there were traitors in his camp, took no steps to secure
them, but continued to remain in his position waiting for the arrival
of Barclay's dragoons and Leslie's foot from Forfar and Cupar Angus,
whither he had despatched a trusty Highlander, who had been accus-
tomed to trade in Strathdee and Braemar, and who, consequently,
would not be suspected as the bearer of despatches, with an express to
hasten their march. Mackay might have retreated down the river, but
he was advised to remain at Colmnakill l)y Sir Thomas Livingston and
the laird of Grant, for these reasons, that by retaining his ground, his
expected succours would be every day drawing nearer to him, and that
ivery day thus spent would be lost to Dundee, who was prevented, by
his presence, from communicating with those places in the losv coun-
try wnere he expected reinforcements, particularly in horse, of which

138 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

he stood in most need. Besides, by retiring, Mackay considered thai
he might probably be forced to recross tlie Grampians before the two
regiments could join him, in which case, he would leave the whole of
the north exposed to Dundee, who would probably avail himself of the
opportunity to raise a force too formidable to be encountered.

In the meantime, Dundee sent a detachment of his army to lay siege
to the old castle of Ruthven, in which Mackay, on his arrival at In-
verness, had placed a garrison of about sixty of Grant's Highlanders,
under the command of John Forbes, brother to CuUoden. The garri-
son being in want of provisions, Capitulated on the condition that their
lives should be spared, and that they should be allowed to return to
their homes on their parole. While conducted through Dundee's
camp, Forbes observed all the horses saddled, and his army prepar-
ing as if for an immediate march. In proceeding towards Colmnakill,
he met, at the distance of about a mile from Dundee's lines, two men on
horseback, one in a red, the other in a blue uniform. The latter im-
mediately challenged him with the usual parole, " Qui vive ?" on which
Forbes returning the " Vive le Roi Guilleaume," as indicative of his
loyalty to the existing government, the man in red informed him, that
they had been despatched from Mackay 's camp to obtain intelligence
of the enemy. Captain Forbes then cautioned the men of the risk
the}' would run if they proceeded farther, but regardless of his advice,
they rode forward in the direction of Dundee's camp. Forbes having
mentioned this occurrence to Mackay while at dinner the same day,
the latter immediately suspected that the officers of dragoons were in
communication with Dundee, as he had given no such order as the man
clothed in red had pretended. He, thereupon, desired inquiry to be
made if any dragoons had been sent out, and by whom ; and as blue
was the uniform of Livingston's men, he desired them to be instantly
mustered to ascertain if any were absent ; but the general had scarcely
issued these instructions, when some of his scouts brought him intelli-
gence that Dundee's army was moving down the Strath towards Colm-
nakill. This movement, combined with the information which had
been communicated to him by Forbes, left no doubt r>f the treachery of
the dragoons.

Under these circumstances, Mackay had no alternative but an imme-
diate retreat. Calling, therefore, his commanding officers together, he or-
dered them to put their men under arms and to form them upon the plain
in marching order. He next addressed himself to the laird of Grant,
and after expressing his regret at the step he was about to take, by
which Grant's lands would be left for a short tinse exposed to the ra-
vages of Dundee's army, he requested him to order his tenants to drive
their cattle down the country out of the reach of the enemy, who would
probably overlook them in their anxiety to follow him in his retreat.
Grant listened to this advice with becoming attention, but to show how
little he regarded his own personal interest, as opposed to what he con-

RETHEAT OP MACKAY DOWN STHATHSPEY. 1^9

ceived his duty to his country, he observed, that thougu he might lose
every thing by Dundee's invasion of his countrj', he would not take one
step prejudicial to the government.

In fixing the order of his retreat, Mackay adopted the plan he had
been accustomed to follow, that he might not excite the jealousy of the
dragoons, or make them suspect that he was distrustful of them. Ac-
cordingly, as was his usual practice, he divided the di-agoons into two
bodies, one of which consisting of Major and Captain Balfour's com-
panies, he placed in the rear, and the other four companies commanded
by the di>atfected officers he placed in the front, that he might overawe
them by his own presence. Immediately before the two troops of dra-
goons which formed the rear-guard, Mackay placed two hundred foot,
chiefly grenadiers of the three Scoto-Dutch regiments, and next to them
the English horse, then scarcely seventy men strong, and between those
horse and the four companies of dragoons which were led by Sir Thomas
Livingston, he posted two hundred of Lord Reay's and Balnagowu's
Highlanders, having previously dismissed Grant's men, whom he had
informed their chief he would leave behind to protect their own coun-
try from Dundee's stragglers.

There were three ways by which Mackay could retreat,^-either to-
wards Inverness, or through Strathdown and Glenlivet, a movement
which would bring him near his expected reinforcements, or down
Strathspey. Of these routes Mackay would have preferred the southern ;
but as the population of Strathdown and Glenlivet was catholic, and of
course hostile to him ; and as the ground in those districts was un-
favourable to the operations of cavalry in case of attack, he resolved to
march down Strathspey. But as he was desirous to conceal his route
from Dundee, he did not begin his march till nightfall, at which time
Dundee was within three miles of his camp. In his course down Spey-
side he passed by the house of Grant of Ballindalloch, who was serving
under Dundee, and arrived early the following morning at Balveny,
where he halted to refresh his men and procure a supply of provisions.
There he met Sir George Gordon of Edinglassie, from whom he ob-
tained some men to act as intelligencers. Some of these he despatched
back in the direction he had come, to ascertain if Dundee still remain-
ed in the Strat'i ; but apprehensive that Dundee would take a
southerly course, by crossing the Strath, with the view of throwing
himself between Mackay and his reinforcements, he sent off others in
that direction. These scouts soon returned with intelligence that Dun-
dee was still in Strathspey. This information was satisfactory to Mackay,
and relieved him from a state of the most painful anxiety he had
been in on his march ; but he was still greatly perplexed by the want
of provisions, which, though hourly expected, had not yet arrived.

Desirous, however, to wait for supplies as long as consistent with safety,
he again despatched some of Gordon's men in the direction he supposed
Dundee would take, and at sametinie sent out a sergeant with a party of

140 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

twelve dragoons back by the course he had marched to bring him notice
of Dundee's motions. Mackay waited witli the greatest impatience till
about five o'clock in the evening for the return of the dragoons, without
any signs of their appearance, a circumstance which alarmed him so
much, that although a quantity of provisions and oats had just reached
his camp, he would not allow time for baking bread or feeding the horses,
but gave orders for an immediate march. Accordingly, the whole party
moved otf in the same order as before, and passed a small river about
a mile above the place where they had been encamped ; but they had
scarcely advanced half a mile when Sir Thomas Livingston, who hap-
pened to be a little behind, observed the enemy on the other side of the
river they had just passed, marching towards the ford by which Mackay 's
men had crossed. On being informed of this, Mackay, after ordering
Lieutenant-colonel Livingston, who was at the head of the vanguard, to
continue at a pretty quick pace ; galloped to the rear, and having
despatched Sir Thomas Livingston to the front to lead the part3', with
instructions to keep up a constant pace, but without wearying the troops,
he posted himself upon a rising ground with about fifty or sixty horse
and dragoons in view of Dundee's army, where he was joined by the
master of Forbes with about fifty horse.

When Dundee observed the party of dragoons drawn up on the hillock
he immediately halted, drew in his stragglers, and marshalled his men
into battalions, keeping up the usual distinction of the clans. In tiie
meantime Mackay sent ofl' his nephew, Major Mackay, to a hill which lay
about a quarter of a mile to his left, from which he could obtain a nearer
and more correct view of Dundee's force and his motions. The Viscount's
horse immediately passed the river, and drew up along the bank to pro-
tect the passage of the foot, w ho in their turn also formed till the bag-
gage was brought over. It was now after sunset, but the Viscount con-
tinued to advance. Mackay, who was nearly two miles behind his rear,
thereupon began to ride oft' with his party, but he liad not proceeded
far when a cry of " halt !" met his ears. On turning round he observed
Major Mackay galloping after him, who, having observed a party of
horse which he supposed to belong to Dundee, moving along the face of
a hill to the General's left, and which from the twilight appeared more
numerous than it really was, had hastened to acquaint the General ot
the circumstance. Mackay, thereupon, sent an order to Colchester's
detachment to halt on the first level spot of ground they should come
to. It turned out, however, that this party which had occasioned such
alarm was no other than the sergeant with the twelve dragoons ot Living-
ston's regiment which had been sent out by Mackay in the morning to
reconnoitre. It was afterwards ascertained that this sergeant was con-
cerned in the plot, and that he was the same individual in blue, whom
Captain Forbes had met with within a mile of Dundee's camp. This man
pretended, how'cver, that he had run great danger of capture ; and that
he had taken such a round-about way merely to avoid the enemj', though

IVDVANCB OF MACKAY A\'D RETKEAT OF DUNllEE. l41

he and his party had been with Dundee the whole day, and had con-
diieted him over the ground wliieh Macliay had passed on the preceding
day. With tlie exception of a sliort halt ordered by Sir Thomas Liv-
ingston, on a false alarm being spread tliat Mackay was engaged, the
government forces continued tlieir march all night till they crossed the
river of Bogie, where, from pure exhaustion, they halted at four o'clock in
the morning. The General then ordered the provisions which had reached
tl'.e camp previous to his retreat, to be distributed among his troops, and
desired the horsemen to lead their horses into an adjoining corn-field and
feed them. When the men were refreshing themselves Mackay received
tlie agreeable intelligence that Barclay and Lesley's regiments would join
him that day, but " to play sure game," as he himself says, after allowing
his men two hours' rest, he marched three miles further down towards
his succours, and took up a position at the foot of Suy-hill upon
the common road from the south to the north, by which he expected
the two regiments would march. But this precaution was unnecessary, as
Dundee had halted witliin three miles of Strathbogie during the night,
and spent the following day in laying waste the lands of Edinglassie,
and pillaging and destroying the house of Sir George Gordon the pro-
prietor.

Having sent a pressing order to Barclay and Lesley to hasten their
march, Mackay had the satisfaction of being joined by the former at
twelve o'clock noon, and by the latter at six o'clock in the evening, after
a long and fatiguing march. Resolved that no time should be lost in
turning the chase upon Dundee before he should be aware of these rein-
forcements, INIackay put his army in marching order, and advanced to-
wards him after ten o'clock at night. But his designs were made known
to Dundee by two dragoons who had been despatclied by their officers.
These men, on the departure of Dundee, were discovered in a wood by
Sir George Gordon, the master of Forbes, Major Mackay, and others,
who, along with some Highlanders, a servant, and a boy belonging to
one Captain Bruce, formerly an officer in Livingston's dragoons in the
reign of King James, had there concealed themselves. The general being
satisfied, on examining of the servant and boy, that the sergeant before
mentioned had been in Dundee's camp, and that he had had a conference
with Dundee, and the two dragoons having confessed nearly as much
themselves, he immediately put Lieutenant-Colonel Livingston and the
other suspected officers under arrest. He thereupon continued his march,
and arrived at Balveny that night, and on the following day reached
Colmnakill, which he had left only five days before. Here having re-
ceived notice that a party of Dundee's men was on the other side oi
the adjoining river, he sent orders to Sir Thomas Livingston to cross
with two hundred dragoons and drive them away ; but Sir Thomas
having been previously informed that the laird of Grant was sorely
pressed by the retiring forces of Dundee, had anticipated the general's
orders, and had advanced two miles beyond the river with a greater

142 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

force, m pursuit of a body of highlanders. These were, accord-
ing to Balcarras, Sir John Maclean's men, who were on their way
to join Dundee, and who, alarmed at the appearance of such a large num-
ber ot dragoons, threw away their plaids and betook themselves to an
adjoining hill, where they formed. They are stated by the last-men-
tioned author to have amounted only to two hundred men, but Mackay,
in his memoirs,* states the number at five hundred. Mackay observes,
that but for the indiscretion of Livingston's adjutant, who by riding a
quarter of a mile in advance, gave the Highlanders timeous notice
of the approach of the dragoons, not one of them would have escaped,
but being tliereby enabled to gain the top of the hill before the dra-
goons came up with them, they sustained a loss of only eighty or a hun-
dred men. In this skirmish, a captain of Barclay's regiment and six
dragoons were killed, and some wounded.

Having been joined by Ramsay's detachment, which during the oc-
cupancy of Strathspey by the hostile armies, had, unknown to Mackay,
penetrated through Athole and Badenoch and reached Inverness,
Mackay continued to pursue Dundee into Badenoch, but as the latter re-
tired into Lochaber, Mackay gave over the pursuit on learning that
Dundee had dismissed the greater part of his forces. Mackay, there-
upon, marched to Inverness with Livingston's dragoons, Leslie's foot,
and a party of Leven's and Hastings' regiments, and two hundred High-
landers, and he sent Berkeley's regiment to Strathbogie, where there
was abundance of grass, and the three Dutch regiments to Elgin.
From Inverness, Mackay despatched an express to the duke of Hamil-
ton, urging upon him the necessity of placing " a formidable garrison ''
at Inverlochy, and small ones in other places in the north, without
which he cojisidered that it would be utterly impossible to subdue the
Higldanders, w ho, on the approach of an army, for which a fortnight'ssub-
sistence could not be found in their mountainous regions, could easily
retire to difficult passes and other places inaccessible to regular troops.
He, therefore, requested that his grace and the parliament would con-
sider the matter before tlie season was farther spent, and provide the
necessary means for carrying such a design into effect against his arrival
in the south, whither he intended to proceed in a few days.

On his way to the south, Mackay despatched fifty horse, as many of
Berkeley's dragoons, and sixty foot, to take possession of the house of
Braemar, into which he intended to place a garrison to keep the Brae-
mar men in check, and to cover the county of Aberdeen;, and he order-
ed the captain of dragoons, after putting twenty of his men into the
house, to march forward, without halting, before break of day, to the
house of Inverey, about three miles farther off, for the purpose of seizing
Inverey and some other gentlemen who had lately been with Dundee.
But, fortunately for Inverey and his guests, the officer triHed off his

• I'. 3H, of Ihe copy printed for the Baiumtjiie ciub.

ADVANCE OF MACKAY AND RETREAT OF DUNUEK. 1 4.>

time in Braemar house, refreshing his horses, till Ihe dawn of the morn
ing, and the approach of him and his party being perceived, Inverey
and his friends escaped in their shirts to a neighbouring wood. Disap-
pointed of their prey, the party retired to the house of Braemar, where,
after setting their horses loose to graze, they laid themselves down to
repose ; but they were soon wakened from their slumbers by some fir-
ing from a party on a rock above, which had so alarmed the horses that
they were found galloping to and fro in the adjoining fields. As soon as
tlie dragoons had caught their horses, which they had some difficulty in
doing, they galloped down the country. The party on the rock was
headed by Inverey, who had collected a number of his tenantry for the
purpose of expelling the dragoons from his bounds, and who, on their
retreat, set fire to Braemar house, which was consumed.

The party of foot, which, having charge of a convoy of provisions and
ammunition for the intended garrison, had not yet arrived, on hearing
of the retreat of the dragoons, shut themselves up in a gentleman's
house, to secure themselves from attack, and the comraanding officer
sent an express after Mackay, who was then on his way to the south,
acquainting him of the failure of the enterprise. On receiving this in-
telligence, Mackay, although he had not a day's bread on hand, and
was in great haste to reach Edinburgh, " to put life in the design of
Inverlochy," turned off" his course and crossed the hills towards Brae-
mar, with- his foot, after giving directions to Berkeley's dragoons to
march up Deeside. Finding Braemar house destroyed, and the vaults of
it incapable of holding a garrison, Mackay, after burning Inverey's house
and laying waste all his lands, descended the river to Abergeldie, where
he left a detachment of seventy-two men as a check upon the Far-
quhai'sons. And having placed the other troops which he had brought
from the north in quarters farther down the Dee, he posted ofi^ to Edin-
burgh, where he arrived in the beginning of July, about a fortnight
before the surrender of the castle of Edinburgh, which capitulated on
the fourteenth of June, after a siege of three months.

On his arrival at Edinburgh, Mackay was exceedingly mortified to find
that no steps whatever had been taken by the government for putting his
design into execution, of erecting a fort at Inverlochy. As the season
was now too far advanced to collect materials for such an erection, he
proposed in council, that a body of fifteen hundred pioneers should be
levied in the northern counties, each of whom should be obliged to carry
a spade, shovel, or pickaxe, along with him, and that a month's provi-
sion of meal, with horses to carry it, should be furnished, along «ith a
force of four hundred men. But this plan the general himself confesses,
" considering the inability, ignorance, and little forwardness of the gov-
ernment to furnish the necessary ingredients for the advance of their
service, was built upon a sandy foundation, and much like the building
of castles in the air."* As an instance of the slowness and irresolution

• Wemuirs, p. 4G.

14-> U1:a1UU1 UF THE HIGHLANDS.

of government, Mackay mentions, that alter his return fi-ora the Jiorth.
they tooic three weeks to deliberate upon the mode of conveying a fort-
night's provisions for four hundred men ; by which delay he says he
lost the opportunity of preventing Dundee from occupying Athole
Badenoch, and other parts of the southern higlilanjs.

GBANDTULLY CASTLE.

CHAPTER VII.

I'rohabililies of snucess— Dundee solicits aid from Ireland — I'Inn of campaign — Prepar-
ations of Mnckay — Conference between him and Lord Murray who proceeds to
Atliole — Conduct of the Athole-men — Arrivjtl of an Irish Reinforcement which joins
Dundee— Departure of Mackay to Perth— March of Dundee into Athole— The Battle
of Killiecrankie — Death and character of Dundee.

The return of Mackay to the capital, after a fruitless and exceeding-
ly harassing series of marches and countermarches, seems to have
abated the ardour of some of the supporters of the government, who,
disappointed in their expectations, and displeased at the preference
shown by the court to others they considered less deserving than them-
selves, had become either indifferent about the result of the struggle, or
secretly wished for a restoration. That such an event might occur was
indeed far from improbable. James W£s already in possession, with the
exception of two cities, of all Ireland, and William was by no means po-
pular in England. To give, therefore, a decided and favourable
turn to James's affairs in Scotland nothing was wanting but to aid
Dundee immediately with a few thousand men from Ireland ; but al-
though the necessity of such a step was urged by Dundee in his com-
munications with the exiled monarch, the latter did not, unfortunately
for himself, consider the matter in the same light. The expectation of
such a reinforcement, which they confidently looked for, had, however,
its due effect upon the minds of the highlanders, who gladly endured
during the recent campaign all those painful privations which neces-
sarily attend an army scantily provided with the means of subsistence.
No man was better fitted by nature than Dundee for command under
Euch difficulties, and at the head of such troops. Whilst by his open-
ness, frankness, and disinterestedness he acquired an ascendancy over
the minds of the chiefs, he was equally successful by attending personally
to their wants, by mixing frequently among them, and by sharing their
privations and fatigues, in securing the obedience of the clans. But
valuable and important as the services were of such a bold and devoted

146 HISTORY OF. THE HIGHLANDS.

band, it was evident that without a sudden and powerful diversion from
Ireland, or a considerable rising in the lowlands, it was impossible for
Dundee, from the paucity of his forces, and the Avant of cavalry,
to carry the war into the south with any possible chance of suc-
cess.

As the Irish reinforcements were daily expected, Dundee enjoined the
chiefs of the clans, who, with their men, had taken a temporary leave of
absence on the departure of Mackay, to rejoin him as soon as possible,
and from his head quarters at Moy, in Lochaber, he sent expresses to
the other chiefs who had not yet joined him to hasten to the approach-
ing muster.*

* The iollowing letter to Macleod of Macleod will give some iilta of Dundee's pros
peels at this time : —

" For the Laiud 0/ Macleod.*

" Moy, Jun23, 1GS9.
" Sir, — Glengaire gave me ane account of the substance of a letter he receaved from
yow : I shall only tell yow, that if you heasten not to land your men, I am, of opinion yow
%viU have litle occasion to do the king great service; for if he land in the west of Scot-
land^ yow will come too late, as I believe yow will ilunck yourself by the news 1 have to
tell yow. The prince of Orange hath wreaten to the Scots councell not to fatig his troops
any more by following us in the hills, but to draw them together in a body to the west ;
and, accordingly, severall of the forces that were in Pearthshire and Angus, are drawn
to Edinr., and some of M'Kay's regments are marcht that way from him : he further
informs that, besids the fifty-two sail alraidy in Irland of French men-of-warr, there are
eighty more from Brest, who have fivleen tlxousand land souldiers aboord, and that he
knowsnot whither they design fur England or Irland. He orders the whole kingdome to be
put in ane posture of defence, so that ;dl persons must draw to armes, and take pairty one
way or other. There came an express, some weeks ago, from Londondairy to Duke Ha-
miltone, telling, if they got not immediat relief, they could hold out no longer. We hear
also from Edinr. that they offered to render, if the king would give any capitulation,
which the king refuses, being advised that its necessar to make exemple of them for the
terrour of others. Mr Hay, who came hither yesterday from Jrland, gives account that,
above three weeks ago, he was at the siege, and then hers flesh was sold for sixpence a
pound, and for cannon bullets they were shooting lumps of brick wrapped in peuter
plates. It is now certainly rendert. Mr Hay saw relief offer to land, but was beat back
with great loss. Some of the French fleet hath been seen amongst the islands, and hath
taken the two Glasgow frigats. The king, being thus master by sea and land, hath no-
thing to do but bring over his army, which many people fancy is landed alraidy in the
west. He will have litle to oppose him there, and will probably march towards Eng-
land; so that we who are in the graitest readiness will have ado to join him. I have
receaved by Mr Hay a commission of lieutenant-general, which miscairied by Breidy.
I have also receaved a double of a letter miscairied by Breidy to me, and a new letter,
dated the 18th of May ; both which are so kind, that I am asham'd to tell. He counts
for great services, which I am conscious to myself that I have hardly done my deutie.
He promises not only to me, but to all that will join, such marks of favor, as after ages
shall see what honour and advantage there is, in being loyall. He sayes, in express
terms, that his favours shall vy ^vith our loyalty. He hath, by the same letters, given
full power of councell to such councellers here, as shall be joined in the king's service,
and given us power, with the rest of his freends, to meet in a convention, by his autho-
rity, to counteract the mock convention at Edinr., whom he hath declaired traitours, and
romanded all his loyall subjects lo make warr against them ; in obedience to which, I

• The nrigiiial of this letter, which is nddrossod to John Macleod of Msrleod, is in possession of the
present Laird of Mat-leoil, liis descendant.

DnNDEE's INSTRUCTIONS TO THE EARL OF MELFORT 147

About the same time he despatcned a letter to the earl of Melfort, in
which, after adverting to various circumstances, he advises him to send
over from Ireland a body of five or six thousand men to Inverlocliy,
wliicli he considered the safest hinding place that could be selected as
being " far from the enemy," and whence an easy entrance could be
obtained for an army into IMoray, Angus, or Perthshire. On the
return of the transports from Inverlochy, Dundee advised Melfort to
send over as many foot as he conveniently could to the point of Cantyre,
on hearing of whose landing he would advance as far as the neck of
Tarbert to meet them, and that on the junction taking place, Dundee
would march " to raise the country," and afterwards proceed to the
passes of the Forth to meet the king, who, it was supposed, would follow
the expedition. To deceive Mackay and the Scottish council, and to in-
duce them to withdraw their forces from the north, and thus leave him at
greater liberty to organize it, Dundee industriously circulated a report
that the forces from Ireland would land altogether in some quarter
south of the Clyde. To give an appearance of certainty to the rumour,
he wrote a letter to Lady Errol, a warm supporter of James's interest,
acquainting her of the expected landing in the west, and to prevent
suspicion of any ruse being intended, he inclosed some proclamations,
which, it is presumed, he intended to issue when the Irish arrived. As

liave ciilli-d all the clannes. Caplain of Glenraniiald* is near us these severall dayes ; the
laird of Baro + is there with his men. I am persuaded Sir Donald \ is there by tliis.
M'Clean § lands in Morven to-morrow certainly. Apen,[| Glenco,** Lochell,+t Gien-
gaire,tt Keppock.U are all raidy. Sir Alexander II || and Largo*** have been herewith
there men all this while with me, so that 1 hope we will go out of Lochaber about thre
thousand. Yow may judge what we will gett in Slrathharig, Badenock, Athol, Marr,
and the duke of Gordon's lands, besides the loyall shires of Bamf, Aberdeen, Merns,
Angus, Pearth, and Stirling. 1 hope we will be masters of the north, as the king's army
will be of the south. 1 had almost forgot to tidl you of nij Lord Bioadalban,tt+ who I
suppose will now come to the feelds. Dumbeth, with two hundred hors and eight hun-
dred foot, are said to be endeavouring to join us. My L. Seaforlhllt will be in a few
dayes from Irland to rais his men for the king's service. Now, 1 have layd the whole
business before yow, yow will easily know what is fitt for yow to do. All 1 shall say fur-
ther is, to repeat and renew the desyre of my former letter, and assure yow that 1 am.

"Sir,

Your most humble servant,

*' DUNDIE.

" Vou will receave the king's letter to yow."

• Allan Macdoiiald, raptain uf Clanratiald, ttieii uiid-.r i^gv. lioiiald Mai-doiiald uf BeQbecuia, his
tiilor, attended tiim.

t R- Macneil of Barra.
t Sir Donald Mai-d.,ii,ld uf Slaie.
« S.r Jolin Maclean of Dowart and Murven.
II Stewart of Appin.

•* Alexander Maodonald, or Macean of Glenco.
H- Sir Ewari Cameron of Lorheil.
It Alexander Macdonell, younger of Glengary.

\ ^ Dundee ** used to call him Cull of the Cowes, bei:anse he found thi^m out when they were driven
to tlie hills out of the way," — Vepoiiiwn of Lieutenant Colt in appendix to acts of parliament, lltWl.
'J II Sir Alexander Maclean of Otter.

• *• Alexander M.ifdunald of Largo.
++t John, first earl of Bre.idHlbane.
lit Kenneth, fourth earl of Seaforth.

148 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Wished and anticipated, this despatch was intercepted and sent to Edin-
burgh. The device appears to liave in part succeeded, as Dundee
informs Melfort, that the government forces were afterwards withdrawn
from Cantyre.*

* ''For the Earl o/ Melfort.*

''IVIoy IN LocHABER. June 27. i6S9.

After exculpating liimself from a charge made against liim by the Earl, of his name
having been ' made use of for carrying on designs against the Earl,' Dundee thus pro-
ceeds : —

'* When we first came out 1 had but fifty pounds of powder ; more 1 could not get, all
tlie great towns and seaports were in rebellion, and had seized the powder, and would sell
none. But I had one advantage, the Highlanders will not fire above once, and then lalce
to the broad-sword . . . The advocate + is gone to England, a very honest man, firm
beyond belief; and Alhol is gone too, who did not know what to do. Earl Hume, who
is very frank, is taken prisoner to Ediuburgli, but he will be let out on secuiity. Earl
Breadalbin keeps close in a strong house ; he has and pretends the gout. Karl Errol sta\ s
at home; so does Aberdeen. Earl Marshall is at Edinburgh, but does not meddle.
Earl Lauderdale is right, and at home. The Bishops, 1 know not where they are. They
are now the kirk invisible. I will be forced to open the letter, and send copies attested
(0 tliem, and keep the original, till 1 can find out our primate. The poor ministers are
sorely oppressed over all. They generally stand right. Duke Queensberry was present
at the cross, when their new mock King was proclaimed, and I hear, voted for him,
though not for the throne vacant. His brother the Lieutenant General, some say is
made an Earl. He has come down to Edinburgh, and is gone up ;igain. He is tiie old
man, and has abused me strangely, for he swore to me to make amends. Tarbat is a
great villain. Besides what lie has done at Edinburgh, he has endeavouied to seduce
Lochiel, by offers of money, which is under his hand. He is now gone up to secure his
faction, which is melting, the two Dalrymples and others against Skelmarl)',| Pohvart,
Cardross, Ross, and olliers now joined with that worthy prince, Duke Hamilton. M.
Douglas is now a great knave, as well as beast; as is Glencaiine, Morton, and Eglinton,
and even Cassillis is gone astray, misled by Gibby.§ Panmure keeps right, and at home,
so does Strathmore, Soutliesk, and Kinnaird. Old Airly is at Edinburgh under caution,
so is Balcarras and Dunmore. Stormont is declared fugitive for not appearing. All
these will break out, and many more, when the King lands, or any from him. Most of
the gentry on tliis side the Forth, and many on the other, will do so too. But they sufii^r
mightily in the mean time; and will be forced to submit, if there be not relief sent very
soon. The Duke of Gordon, they say, wanted nothing for holding out but hopes of
relief. Earl of Dunfermling staj'S constantly with me, and so does Lord Dunkell,
Pitcur, and many other gentlemen, who really deserve well, for Ihey sutiijr great hard-
ships. When the troops land there must be blank commissions sent for horse and foot,
for them and others that w ill join.

" My lord, 1 have given my opinion to the king concerning the landing. I would first
nave a good party sent over to Inverlochy, about SOOO or 6000, .is you have conveniency
of boals; of which .Ts many horse as cgnvinienlly can. About 600 or 800 would do
well, but rather more; for had I had hoise for all ihat yet appeared, I would not have
feared them. Inverlochy is safe landing, far from the enemy, and one may chuse from
thence, to go to Murray by Inverness, or to Angus by Alhol, or to Perth by Glencoe,
and all tolerable wa) s. The only ill is, the passage is long by sett and inconvenient, because
if tile island ; but in this season tliat is not to be feared. Si^ soon as the boats reluni, let
them ferry over as many more foot as they think fit, to the Point of Kintyre, which will
soon be done; and then the king has all the boats for his own landing. I should march
towards Kintyre, and meet at the neck of Tarbitt the foot, and so march to raise lhi.
country, and then towards the Passes of Forth, to meet the king, when 1 doubt not wo
would be numerous. I have done all I can, to make them believe the king will land

• Tliis letter \v«s printed t>y Mnpphersnn frum tlie Nainte papers.
f Sir George Mackenzie. J Mr J.iine» Aluiit^oniery, ^ Dr Giltiprt Burnet, the historiu-:.

PREI'AIIATIONS OF MACKAY. 149

Whilst Dundee was thus maturing his plans, preparatory to another
campaign, Mackay was urging the privy council to supply him with
a sufficient force, for carrying into cftcct his favourite plan of erecting a
strong fortification at Inverlocliy, a circumstance which leads to the
supposition, that " the General," a term by which Mackay distinguishes
himself in his memoirs, had not taken the bait which had been prepared
for him by his artful rival, for it is improbable, had Mackay believed
the story invented by Dundee, that he would have insisted on carrying
such a large force as four thousand men, the number he required, into
Lochaber, so very remote from the scene of the threatened invasion.

Having collected his forces, Mackay made the necessary preparations
for his departure, but he was detained nearly a fortnight in Edinburgh,
beyond the time he had fixed for his march, by the delays of the go-
vernment, in furnishing meal for his troops, and horses for transporting
it. In the meantime he w:xs informed by Lord Murray, eldest son of
the Marquis of Athole, that Stewart of Ballechen, his father's chamber-
lain, and other gentlemen of the county of Angus, had taken possession
of the castle of Blair Al'iole, belonging to the Marquis, and were forti-
fying it for behoof of king James. On receiving this intelligence,
Mackay requested an interview with Lord Murray, in presence of the
Duke of Hamilton, his father-in-law, at which the young nobleman de-
clared that from what he knew of the feelings of the men of Athole,
he had no hopes of inducing them to join the government forces against
Dundee, but he offered to go immediately to Athole, and do every
thing in his power to obtain possession of the castle of Blair, before
Dundee should arrive, as he did not believe that Ballecban and his father's
tenants would refuse him admission to his father's house, and he also
engaged to collect all his father's vassals together, so as to prevent them
from joining Dundee. As Lord Murray's wife was known to be very
zealous for the presbyterian interest, and as his lordship' and the

altogether in the west, on purpose to draw their troops from the north, tlmt we may the
easier raise tlie country, if the landing be here. I have said so, and written it to every-
body ; and particularly I sent some proclamations to my Lady Errol, and wrote her to that
purpose, which was intercepted and carried to Edinburgh, and my lady taken prisoner.
1 believe it has taken the effect designed ; for the forces are marched out of Kintj re, and
I am just now informed, M. G. M'Kay is gone frcira Inverness, by Murray, towards
Edinburgh. 1 know not what troops he has taken with him as yet; but it is thought he
will take the horse and dragoons except a few, and must of tlie standing forces, when, if
he do, it will be a rare occasion for lauding here, and for raising the country. Then,
when they hear of that, they will draw this way, which will again favour the king's land-
ing The landing of troops will confound them terribly. I had almost forgot

to tell you, that P O , as they say, has written to his Scotch Council, telling them

he will not have his troops any moie harassed following me through the hills; hut orders
them to draw to the west, where he says a great army is to land ; and, at the same time,
gives them accounts, that eight sail of men-of-war is coming fi'om Brest, with 15,000 nien

on board If tbere come any party this way, 1 beg you send us ammunition, and

three or four thousand arms of ditierent sorts, some hoi-se, some foot. 1 have just now
received a confirmation of jMackay's going south ; and that he takes with him all the
horse and dragoons, and all the standing foot; by which I conclude, certainly they axfi
preparing against the landiuE: in tlie west."

150 HISTORY OS iHS, HIGHLANDS.

Marquis his father, who was secretly hostile to the government, were at
variance, Mackay gave a ready assent to the proposal, and pressed liis
Lordship eagerly to depart for Athole without loss of time, informing
him that all he required from him, was to prevent the Athole-men from
joining Dundee.*

Lord Murray accordingly proceeded to Athole, where he arrived
about the beginning of Jul3', and lost no time in summoning his father's
vassals to meet him. About twelve hundred of them assembled, but no
entreaties could induce them to declare in favour of the government, nor
could a distinct pledge be obtained from them to observe a neutrality
during the impending contest. His lordship was equally unsuccessful in
an application which he made to Stewart of Ballechen, for delivery of
Blair castle, who told him in answer that he held the castle for behoof
of King James, by order of his lieutenant-general. The failure of Lord
Murray's mission could certainly occasion no disappointment, as it was
not to be imagined that a body of men who had all along been distin-
guished for their attachment to the exiled family, were, contrary to the
understood wish of their chief, and contrary to the example set them by
his steward, at the call of a young man, who by marriage, and the dis
agreement with his father, may be supposed to have made himself
obnoxious to the men of Athole, all at once to abandon long cherished
ideas and to arm in support of a cause in which they felt no interest.

About the period of Lord Murray's arrival in Athole, intelligence
was brought to Dundee that a body of five hundred Irish troops, under
an officer of the name of Cannan, had reached Mull. The viscount im-
mediately proceeded to Inverlochy to give orders respecting their land-
ing, but, although they all reached the mainland in perfect safety, the
ships which carried their provisions being unnecessarily detained at
Mull, were all captured by some English frigates which were cruizing
amongst the western islands. The loss of their stores was a serious evil,
and embittered the disappointment felt by Dundee and the chiefs, to
find that instead of an efficient force of five or six thousand men, as they
had been led to expect, not more than a tentli part had been sent, and
even this paltry force was neither properly disciplined, nor sufficiently
armed ; so that, according to Balcarras, their arrival did " more harm
tlian good." Such also was the opinion of Mackaj- at the time, as ex-
pressed in a letter to Lord Melville.f

Having given the necessary orders for bringing up the Irish tiooj)s,
Dundee returned to Strowan, where he had fixed his head quarters. Here
he received a letter which had arrived during his absence at Inverlochy,
from Lord Strathnaver, eldest son of the earl of Sutherland, couched in
very friendly terms, and advising him to follow the example of the duke
of Gordon, as the course he was following, if persisted in, would lead
Inevitably to his ruin. But Dundee was not the man who would allow

• Miit;ka\'s Memoirs.
t Nil 14. (if Aupcnciix In .Mackiiy's Me-noirs, p. 215 of llie primed i-opy.

CORKESPONDENCE BETWEtN LOttn STRATIINAVER AND DUNDEE 151

his personal interest to interfere with the allegiance, which he consider-
ed he owed to his exiled sovereign, and while in his answer he express-
ed a deep sense of the obligation he l(>y under to his lordship for his
advice and offers of service, which ho imputed to his lordsliip"s "sin-
cere goodness and concern" for iiiin and liis family, he assured him that
he (Dundee) liad no less concern for liiin, and that he had been even
tiiinkiiig of making a similar proposal to liim, but delayed doing so till
his lordsliip should see things in a clearer point of view. *

• *' For the Viscount of Dundee.

"My Lord, — The concern that many equally interested in us botli,* has for jour
lordsliip, abstracting from tliat respect which your own merit made me have, cannot but
occasion regrate in me, to see that the courses you take tend inevitably to the ruin of you
and yours, if persisted in. I caimot, therefore, but wish, that you would follow the duke
of Gordon's example, and I am persuaded it will be found the best course ; neither
shall your friends, who at this time dare not well meddle, be wanting to show tlieir affec-
tion to you, and interest in the standing of your family; and 1 hope you will do me the
Justice to believe that none wishes it better, or will more effectually lay himself out
in it, than

My Lord, &c

Inveniess, Sd. July, 1689. STItATHNAVER."

DUNDEE'S ANSWER.
*' For Lord Strathnaver.

Stroan, 15th July, 16S9.
" My Lord,

Your lordsliip's, dated the 3d. I received the I3th, and would
have returned an answer before now, had I not been called suddenly to Enverlochic, to
give orders anent the forces, arms and ammunititm sent from Irland. My lord, 1 am
extremely sensible of the obligation I have to you, for otfering your endeavours for me
and giving me advice in the desperate estate you thought our affairs were in. I am per-
suaded it flows from your sincere goodness and concern for me and mine, and in return,
I assure your lordship I have no less concern for you, and was thinking of making tlie
like address to you; but delayed it till things should appear more clear to you. lam
sorry your lordship should be so far abused as to think tliat there is any shadow of ap-
pearance of stability in this new structure of government, these men have framed to tliem-
selves. They made you, 1 doubt not, believe that Daiie (Iiondonderry) was relieved
three weeks ago. By printed accounts, and I can assure jou it never was relieved, and now
is taken. They told you the English fleet and Dutch were masters of the sea. I know for
certain the French is, and in the Channel ; in testimony whereof they have defeated our
Scots fleet. For as they came alongst, they fell on the two frigates, killed the captains,
and seized the ships, and brought the men prisoners to Mull. They tell you Shomberg
is going to Irland to carry the war thiiher. I assure you the king has landed a consid.
erable body of forces there, and will land himself amongst our friends in the west, whom
I am sorry for, very soon. So, my lord, having given you a clear and true prospect
of affairs, which I am afraid among your folks you are not used with. Heave you to judge,
if 1, you, or \ our family, or myn, be most in danger. However, I acknowledge francly, 1
am no less obliged to your lordship, seeing you made me an offer of your assistance in a
lime when you thought I needed it. Wherein 1 can serve your lordship or family in any
lime you think convenient, you may freely employ me, for, as far as my duty will allow
me in Uie circumstances we stand, I will study your weyl, as becomes,
M)' Lord,

Your most humble seiTant,

DU.XDIE."

• Lord Strathnave
terto LaJv Dunde.-

married to Helen, :

!■( William Lord Cochrane, andfi

152

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

At Strowan, Dundee was made acquainted by Stewart o( Ballechcn,
with Lord Murray's proceedings, and with a demand made by his lord-
ship for possession of Blair cast^, a demand to which Ballechen had given
the most decided refusal. The possession of this place was of vast im-
portance to Dundee, as it commanded the entrance into the southern high-
lands, and lay in the line of Mackay's intended route to Inverlochy.
To reward his fidelity, and to counteract Lord Murray's influence in
Athole, Dundee sent a commission to Ballechen, appointing liim colonel
of the Athole-men. The appointment, however, would probably have
been conferred on Lord Murray, to whom Dundee had, on the nine-
teenth of July, two days before the date of Ballechan's commission, des-
patched a letter, stating the happiness which he felt on hearing that his
lordship had appointed a rendezvous of the Athole-men at Blair, and
expressing a hope that he would join the viscount with his men ; but,
instead of answering this letter, his lordship sent it to Lord Melville,
the secretary of state for Scotland. Such also was the fate of other
letters, which Dundee sent to Lord Murray. Along with the last, which
was written on the twenty-fifth of July, Dundee despatched Major
Graham and Captain Ramsay for the purpose of obtaining a personal
interview with Lord Murray ; but he declined to see them, or to give
any answer to Dundee's communication. It appears that up to this
time the Athole-men, who had, at the call of tlie son of their chief, as-
sembled to the number of about twelve hundred, were ignorant of Lord
Murray's intentions ; but when he refused to receive Dundee's officers,
they at once began to suspect his designs, and demanded with one voice
an immediate explanation, intimating at same time, that if he would join
Dundee they would follow him to a man ; but if on the contrary he re-
fused, they would all leave him. His lordship remonstrated with them,
and even threatened them with his vengeance if they abandoned him ;
but regardless of his threats, they left him to join Dundee, having pre-
viously filled their bonnets with water from the rivulet of Banovy, in
the neighbourhood of Blair castle, and pledged themselves to King
James by drinking his health. *

In the mean time the government general was busily engaged at Ed-
inburgh, making the necessary preparations for his march. He appointed
his troops to rendezvous at Perth, and after completing his arrangements
at Edinburgh, he went to Stirling to inspect the castle, so as to make
himself acquainted with its means of defence. In a letter f dated twenty-
fourth July, written to Lord Melville on his arrival at Stirling, ISIackay
alludes to the distracted state of the government in Scotland, and the
difficulty he would experience in executing the commission which the
king had given him, to keep the kingdom peaceable, in consequence of
the divisions which existed even between the adherents of the govern-
ment. The removal from office of Stair the president of the court of

• ISaliarras, p. 68. Stewart's Sketches, vol. i. p. 62.
■)• No. 15. of Appiiidix to Mackay's Memoirs, p. 216.

MARCH OF MACKAY INTO ATHOLF. 15.'}

cession, and his son, wlio had rendered themselvps obnoxious to
the ultra whig party, by tliclr attempts to stretch the royal pre-
rogative too far, appears to have been considered by that ])arty of more
importance than keeping Dundee in check, and so higli did tlie spirit of
party run, that the earl of Annandale and Lord Ross wlio had just been
appointed colonels of two newly raised regiments of horse, refused to
accompany their regiments, and offered to resign their commissions
rather than quit the parliament. This state of matters was highly fa-
vourable to James's interests in Scotland, and if Melfort had followed
Dundee's advice, by sending over a large force from Ireland, the cause
of his royal master might have triumphed, but with that fatality which
attended that unfortunate monarch in all his undertakings, he allowed
the golden opportunity which was here offered him, of recovering his
crown, to slip away-

From Stirling Mackay proceeded to Perth, after ordering the troops
of horse and dragoons of the expedition to follow him. On arriving at
Perth, a letter was shown Irim from Lord Murray, from which he learn-
ed, that Dundee, who had been solicited by Stewart of Ballechen to
hasten into Afhole, was already marching through Badenoch, and so anxi-
ous was he to anticipate Mackay 's arrival in Athole, that he had left be-
hind him several chiefs and their men, whose junction he daily expected.
Lord Murray added, that if Mackay did not hasten his march so as to
reach Athole before Dundee, that he would not undertake to prevent
his men from joining the viscount. As Mackay informs us, that before
leaving Edinburgh he had begun "already to have very ill thoughts of
the expedition in gross," and as on reaching Stirling, the idea that lie
would be straitened for provisions haunted his mind ; this information
was assuredly by no means calculated to relieve these fearful apprehen
sions ; but he had gone too far to retrace his steps with honour, and he
therefore resolved to proceed immediately on his march into Athole, for
the following reasons as stated by himself, although four troops of dra-
goons and two of horse had not yet joined him.

In the first place, by stopping at Perth, Mackay considered, from the
information sent by Lord Murray, that the Athole-men, " making 1500,
as reputed men for arms as any of the kingdom," would certainly join
Dundee. 2dly. He considered that by remaining at Perth, he would be
allowing time to Dundee to get up his expected reinforcements, from the
isles and other distant places, and to collect forces in Badenoch, Mon-
teith and Mar. 3dly. By permitting Dundee to establish himself in
Athole, he would have an opportunity of raising some horse, in which
he was very deficient, in the adjoining lowlands, particularly in Angus,
where there were many gentlemen friendly disposed to him. But 4thly,
and apart from these considerations, Mackay was afraid that as his forces
were more numerous than those of Dundee, " the ill-affected of the
nation" would, in the event of any apparent backwardness on the part
of the government forces to meet Dundee's troops, take advantage of

154 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

tile circumstance, by representing matters in a light unfavourable to the
military courage of Mackay's army, and thus afld to tlie boldness of the
disaffected. And lastly, As the possession, by Mackay, of the castle
of Blair, «as in his opinion the only means of keeping the Athole-men,
who, (from tlieir numbers ami strict attachment to the house of Stewart,
were more to be dreaded than any other body of highlanders ;) in awe,
and preventing them from joining Dundee, he had no alternative but to
allow Dundee to roam uncontrolled through the disaffected district of
Athole, gathering strength at every step, or to attempt to gain the im-
portant fortress of Blair.

Such were the grounds, as stated by Mackay in his own exculpation,
which made him resolve upon marching into Athole, and which, he ob-
serves, " more capable commanders might readily be deceived in."
Those who make the unfortunate result of this movement the rule
of their judgment, will be apt to condemn Mackay's conduct on this
occasion as rash and injudicious, but when his own reasons are duly
weighed, censure should be spared, or if used at all, should be but
sparingly employed. Tiiere can be no doubt, that had he been as suc-
cessful at Killiecrankie as he was unfortunate, he would have been ap-
plauded for the exercise of a sound discretion, and regarded as a tac
tician of the highest order.

It was on the twenty-sixtli of July sixteen hundred and eiglity nine,
that Mackay began his fatal march from Pertli at the head of an army
of four thousand five hundred men. Of tliis force, notwithstanding
that the four troops of dragoons and two of horse already alluded to,
had not yet arrived, a fair proportion consisted of cavalry. At
night Mackay encamped opposite to Dunkeld, so celebrated for the
romantic grandeur of its scenery. Here, at midnight, he received an
express from Lord Murray announcing the alarming intelligence, that
Dundee had entered Athole, in consequence of which event he informed
him that he had retreated from before the castle of Blair, which he had
for some time partially blockaded ; and that although he had left the
strait and difficult pass of Killiecrankie between him and Dundee, he
had posted a guard at the further extremity to secure a free passage
to Mackay's troops through the pass wiiich he supposed Dundee had
already reached. IMackay seems to have doubted the latter part of this
statement, and his suspicions were in some degree confirmed by the
fact, that Lieutenant-Colonel Lauder, whom he despatched with a party
immediately on receipt of Murray's letter, to secure the entrance into
the pass from the vale of Blair, did not see a single man on his arrival
there.

Discouraging as this intelligence was, Mackay still determined to
persevere in his march, and having despatched orders to Perth to hasten
the arrival of the six troops of cavalry he had left behind, he put his
army in motion next morning at day-break, and proceeded in the direc-
tion of the pass, the mouth of which he reached at ten o'clock in the

MARCH OF MACKAY INTO ATHOLE. 155

morning. Here he haitea, ana a.iowea his men two hours to rRst antj
refrpsli tliemselves before tliey entered upon the bold and hazardous en-
terprise of plunging themselves into a tVightful chasm, out of which
they might probably never return. To support Lauder in case of at-
tack, the general, on halting, despatched through the pass a body of two
hundred men under the command of tlu; lieutenant-colonel of the earl
of Leven"s regiment, whom he instructed to send him any intelli-
gence he could obtain of Dundee's motions. A short way below the
pass Mackay fell in with Lord Murray, who informed him, in answer to
an interrogatory put by the general, that with the exception of two or
three hundred men, who still remained with him, the whole had gone
to the hills to secure their cattle, an answer which Mackay, with the
open and unsuspecting generosity of a soldier, considered satisfactory,
and made him, as he observes, " not so apt to judge so ill of Murray
as others did."

Having received a notice from Lauder that the pass was clear, and
that there was no appearance of Dundee, JNIackay put his army again
in motion, and entered the pass in the following marching order : The
battalions of Balfour, Ramsay, and Kenmure, entered the pass first,
each in succession, followed by Belhaven's troop of horse. These were
again successively followed by Leven's regiment, (now the twenty-
fifth,) and a battalion under the command of the general. The bag-
gage horses, amounting to upwards of twelve hundred, came next, fol-
lowed by the earl of Annandale's troop of horse, and Hastings's
regiment, (now the thirteenth,) which formed the rear-guard. These
last were placed behind to jirotect the baggage, from an apprehension
that Dundee's Highlanders might make a detour round tlie hill to attack
it, or that the country people might attempt to plunder it if not so
guarded. The idea tliat no opposition would be offered to their passage
through this terrific defile, which seemed to forbid approach, and to
warn the unhappy soldier of the dangers which awaited him should he
precipitate himself into its recesses, may have aflbrded some consolation
to the feelings of Mackay 's troops as they entered this den of desolation ,
but when they found themselves fairly within its gorge, their imaginations
nmst have been appalled as they gazed, at every successive step, on the
w ild and terrific objects which encompassed them on every side. But un-
like the Hessians who, in seventeen hundred and forty-five, refused even
to enter the pass, from an apprehension that it was the utmost verge of the
globe, they proceeded, at the command of their general, on their de-
vious course, and finally cleared it, with the loss of a single horseman
only, who, according to an Athole tradition, was shot by an intrepid
adventurer, named Ian Ban Beg MacRan, who had posted himself on a
hill, whence with murderous aim he fired across the rivulet of the Garry
and brought down his victim. A well, called in Gjelic, " Fiiaran u
trupar,' Anglice, the Horseman's well, is shown as the place where the
horseman fell.

156 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

As soon as the five battalions and the troop ot norse which preceded
the baggage had debouclied from tlie furtlier extremity of tlie pass, they
halted, by coinmaud of the general, upon a corn field, along the side
of the river to await the arrival of the baggage, and of Hastings's re-
giment and the other troop of horse. Mackay then ordered Lieutenant-
Colonel Lauder to advance with his two hundred fusilcers and a troop
of horse in the direction he supposed Dundee might be expected to ap-
pear. This conjecture was too well founded, for Lauder had not ad-
vanced far when lie discovered some parties of Dundee's forces between
hira and Blair. Being immediately apprised of this by Lauder, Mackay,
after giving orders to Colonel Balfour to supply the troops with ammu-
nition, and to put them under arms without delay, galloped otf to the
ground, from which Lauder had espied the enemy, to observe their mo-
tions before making choice of the field of battle. On arriving at the
advanced post, Mackay observed several small parties of troops, scarcely
a mile distant, marching slowly along the foot of a hill in the direction
of Blair, and advancing towards him. Mackay, thereupon, sent orders
to Balfour to advance immediately up to him with the foot. But these
orders were no sooner despatclied than he observed some bodies of
Dundee's forces marching down a high hill within a quarter of a mile
from the place where he stood, in consequence of which movement, he
immediately galloped back to his men to countermand the order he had
just issued, and to put his army in order of battle.*

Dundee, who had been duly advertised of Mackay s motions, had
descended from tlie higher district of Badenoeh into .\thole on the pre-
vious day, with a force of about two thousand five hundred men, of
whom about one-fifth part consisted of the Irisli, which had lately
landed at Inverlochy under Brigadier Cannan. Some of the clans
which were expected had not yet joined, as the day appointed for
the general rendezvous had not then arrived ; but as Dundee con-
sidered it of paramount importance to prevent Mackaj- from estab-
lishing himself in Athole, he did not hesitate to meet him with such an
inferior force, amounting to little more than the half of that under
Mackay.

On his arrival at the castle of Blair, intelligence was brought Dundee
that Mackay had reached the pass of Kiiliecrankie, which he was pre.
paring to enter. At a council of war, which was held in the castle,
Dundee was strongly advised by the most of his officers to dispute the
passage of the Pass, as they did not consider it safe, from the great
numerical disparity of the two armies, to allow Mackay to enter the
Blair till the arrival of the reinforcements, which might be expected to
join in two or three days. Dundee, however, was of quite a different
opinion, and after appealing to the feelings of the Highlanders, who.se
ancestors, he said, acting upon their national maxim never (o attack a

• Miii'ka)*s Memoirs, p. 51.

PREPARATIONS FOR BATTLE. 157

foe wlio could not defend himself on equal terms, would have disdamed
to adopt tlip course proposed, (and in saying so he did not, he observed,
mean to insinuate that the persons he addressed had degenerated from
the honour and courage of their ancestors,) he proceeded to give his
reasons for rejecting the advice offered him, and which at once con-
vinced tlieui that he was right. One principal reason stated by
Dundee for allowing Mackay to advance through the Pass unmolested,
was the great advantage they would gain by engaging him on
open ground before he should be joined by his English dragoons,
who, from their being so formidable to the Highlanders, would, if al-
lowed by him to come up, more than compensate any accession of force
which Dundee might receive.* Another reason not less important was,
tliat in the event of Mackay sustaining a defeat, his army would pro-
bably be ruined, as he could not retreat back through the Pass without
the risk of evident destruction, whereas should the Highlanders suffer a
defeat, they could easily retreat to the mountains. He added, that in
anticipation of Mackay's defeat, he had already given orders to his
friends in the neighbourhood, to cut off the few remaining stragglers
that might attempt to escape.f

The forces which had been descried by Lauder, appear to have been
a body of four hundred men under the command of Sir John Maclean,
whom Dundee, on learning that the advanced guard of Mackay's army,
after traversing the pass, had taken up a position near its northern ex-
tremity, had despatched from Blair castle to keep them in check. But
his scouts having shortly thereafter brought him notice that the whole
of Mackay's army was preparing to enter the pass, he resolved to make
a detour with the main body of his army round the hill on which the cas-
tle of Lude stands, in the vicinity of the pass, and fall upon Mackay as
soon as he should clear that defile. Having made himself acquainted, by
mquiries among the most intelligent of the country people, with the lo-
calities in the immediate neighbourhood of the pass, and of the suitable-
ness of the ground for the operations of such a force as liis, he advanc-
ed at double-quick time from Blair along the present line of road, and on
arriving at the river Tilt, turned off to the left round the back of the hill,
and crossed that river near its confluence with the rivulet of Ald-Chluan.
This movement will account for the sudden and unexpected appearance
of Dundee on the face of the high hill on Mackay's right.

Immediately above the grouiul on which Mackay had halted his
troops is an eminence, the access to which is steep and difficult, and
covered with trees and shrubs. Alarmed lest Dundee should obtain
possession of this eminence, which being within a carabine shot from
the place on which Mackay stood, would give him such a command of
the ground as would enable him, by means of l:is fire, to force Mackay

• Balcairas, p. 69.
♦ Dalrymple's Memoirs, vol. i. [liirt ii. p. 5C.

158

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

to cross the river in confusion ; he, immediately on his return from
the position occupied by his advanced guard, " made every battalion
form by a Quart de Conversion to the right upon the ground where
they stood,"* and tlien made them march each in succession before him up
the hill till tliey reached the eminence, of which they took possession.
Within a musket shot of this ground is another eminence immediately
above the house of Urrard, which Dundee had reached before Mackay
had completed his ascent, and on which he halted.

At this conjuncture, neither Hastings's regiment nor Annandale's
troop of horse had yet come out of the pass, but Mackay, nevertheless,
at once proceeded to arrange his men in fighting order on a plain be-
tween the edge of the eminence and the foot or commencement of the
ascent to Dundee's position, which, from its extent, enabled him to form
his men in one line along the eminence. In making liis dispositions,
Mackay divided every battalion into two parts, and as he meant to fight
three deep, he left a small distance between each of these sub-battalions.
In the centre of his line, however, he left a greater interval of space be-
hind which he placed the two troops of horse, with the design, when the
Highlanders, after the fire of the line had been spent, should approach,
to diaw them oft' by this larger interval, and flank the Highlanders on
either side, as occasion should offer. INIackay assigns as his reason for
placing his cavalry in his rear till the fire should be exhausted on both
sides, a dread he entertained of exposing them to Dundee's horse, which
consisted altogether of gentlemen, reformed officers, or such as had de-
serted, from Dundee's regiment when in England, and with whom it
could not be supposed that these newly raised levies could cope. Has-
tings's regiment, which arrived after Mackay had taken up his ground,
was placed on the right, and to which, for greater security, was added a
detachment of firelocks from each battalion, and on the extreme left on a
hillock covered with trees, Lieutenant-Colonel Lauder was posted, with
his party of two hundred men, composed of the elite of the army.
Mackay having been recognised by Dundee's men busily emploj'ed riding
along his line, from battalion to battalion, giving orders, was selected by
some of them for a little ball practice ; but although " their popping shot,"
which wounded some of his men, fell around him wherever he moved,
he escaped unhurt.

After his line had been fully formed, IMaekay rode along the front,
from the left wing, which he committed to the charge of Brigadier Balfour,
to the right, and having ascertained that every thing was in readiness to
receive the enemy, he addressed the battalions nearest him in a short
speech. He began by showing them the unquestionable justice of the
cause in which they were engaged, and in the success of which the pro-
testant interest, not only in Britain, but throughout the world, was
involved. He represented to them that the defence of that interest, aa

mackay's address to his men. 159

well as the temporal happiness of their country, which it was the object
of its laws to maintain and confirm, mainly depended on the success of
.their enterprize, and lie desired them to remember that they were bound
bj- honour and conscience, not to betray, by a criminal faint-hearted-
ness, the service of the master by whom they were supported. He re-
quested them to reflect that their own personal safety was involved in
the issue of that day's contest; and assured thera that if they maintained
their ground, and liept firmly and closely united together, their assail-
ants would quickly fiee before them for refuge to the hills — that the
reason for which the Highlanders stript themselves almost naked before
battle was rather to enable them to escape, than from any hopes they
entertained of pursuing their foes. Should, however, his men unfortu-
nately give way before the rabble of Highlanders whom they saw mar-
shalled on the adjoining heights — an event which he by no means ex-
pected— there was an absolute certainty, as these naked mountaineers
were more nimble-footed than they were, and as all the Athole-men were
in arms, ready to take advantage of their defeat, that few or none of
them would escape with their lives. In conclusion, he warned them
that the only way to avoid ruin was to stand firm to their posts, and,
like brave men, to fight to the last in defence of their religion and liber-
ties, against the invaders of both, to secure which, and not the desire of
a crown, was the sole reason which had induced his majesty to send
them on the present service.

Whilst .Mackay was thus occupied on the lower platform, his gallant
rival was equally busy flying about on the eminence above, ranging his
men in battle array. He was particularly distinguished amongst his of-
ficers by a favourite dun-coloured horse which he rode, and by his
plated armour, which glittered in the sun-beams. Dundee, who had
arrived upon the higher platform about the same time that Mackay had
gained the ground he now occupied, ranged his men in one line in the
following order : — On the right, he placed Sir John Maclean, w ith his
regiment divided into two battalions. On the left, he posted the regi-
ment of Sir Donald Macdonald, commanded by the young cliief and
Sir George Berkeley, and a battalion under Sir Alexander Maclean,
In the centre were placed four battalions, consisting of the Camerons,
the Macdonells of Glengary and Clanranald, and the Irish regiment,
with a troop of horse under the command of Sir William Wallace, who
had early that morning produced a commission, to the great displeasure
of the earl of Dunfermline and other officers, appointing him colonel of
a horse regiment.* It may be observed, that neither Mackay nor Dun-
dee placed any body of reserve behind their lines.

The great extent of Mackay's line, which reached considerably be-
yond Dundee's wings, compelled the latter, to prevent the danger of be-
ing outflanked, to enlarge the intervals between his battalions. A gene-

• Macpherson's Oiigi'inl Papei-s, vi i. I. p. 3G9.

160 HISTORY OP THE HIGHLANDS.

ral movement from right to left accordingly took place along Dundee's
line. Before Dundee's left halted, Mackay, imagining that the object
of the movement in that quarter was to get between him and the pass,
for the purpose of cutting off all communication between him ami
Perth, made his line make a corresponding movement to his right, but on
observing tliat Dundee's left wing halted, Mackay brought his line to a
stand. These diffiTent movements necessarily occupied a considerable
time, and both armies being now finally arranged, they gazed upon
each other with great composure for the space of two complete hours.

During this interval of care and anxious suspense, the feelings of
both parties — their hopes or their fears would probably be tinctured
by a deeper hue of confidence or despondency as they reflected on the
events of former days. Though more than forty years had elapsed since
the brilliant achievements of Montrose, the Highlanders, naturally bravp,
had lost none of their military ardour, and the descendants of the heroes of
Tippermuir, .\ldearn and Kilsyth, who now stood embattled on the
upper plain, whence, with a scowl of scorn and defiance, they looked
down upon the Sassetiachs below, calling to mind the recital of the he-
roic deeds of their fathers, to which they had listened with wonder and
enthusiasm in their childhood, would burn for the moment when, at the
command of their chiefs, they should measure their broad swords with
the bayonets of their Lowland foes. On the other hand, Mackay 's
men had no such recollections to inspire confidence or to cheer them
in their perilous enterprise, and when thej' beheld the Highland host
ready at a moment's notice to burst like a mountain torrent upon their
devoted heads, and called to mind the tales they had heard of the war-
like prowess of the Highlanders, they could not but recoil at the idea of
encountering, in mortal and deadly strife, such determined antagonists.
There were, it is true, many men in Mackay 's army to whom the
dangers of the battle field were familiar, and in whose minds such re-
flections would doubtless find no place, but the great majority of his
troops consisted of newlj" raised levies, who had never before seen the
face of an enemy.

Mackay himself, though an old and experienced officer, and a brave
man, was not without his misgivings ; and as the evening advanced
without any appearance on the part of Dundee to commence the action,
his uneasiness increased. Nor were his apprehensions likely to be allayed
by the reply made by the second son of Lochiel, who held a commission
in his own regiment of Scots fusileers, in answer to a question put to him
by Mackay. "Here is your father with his wild savages," said Mackay
to the young man, on seeing the standard of tlie Canicrons, putting on
at the same moment an air of confidence, " how would you like to bo
with him?" "It signifies little," answered the son of the chief, "what
1 would like, but I recommend to you to be prepared ; or perhaps my
father and his wild savages may be nearer to you before night than you

m¥^m M,^^

;i#:i-. .. ■;■«;•:"■■--.;

.v-vi:'.

Kilsyth, «:

BATTLE OF KILI-IKCR ANK Ih 161

n-ould lite."* The apparent irresolution of tlie Highlanders to begin the
battle was considered by Mackay as intentional, and he supposed that
their design was to wait till nightfall, when, by descending suddenly
from their position, and setting up a loud shout, according to their usual
custom, they expected to frighten his men, unaccustomed to an enemy,
and put them in disorder. As Mackay could not, without the utmost
danger, advance up the hill and commence the action, and as the risk
was equally great should he attempt to retreat down the hill and cross
the river, he resolved, at all hazards, to remain in his position, " though
with impatience," as he observes, till Dundee should either attack him
or retire, which he had better opportunities of doing than Mackay had.
To provoke the Highlanders, and to induce them to engage, he ordered
three small leather field pieces to be discharged, but they proved of lit-
tle use, and the carriages being much too high, for the greater conven-
ience of carriage, broke after the third firing.

Towards the close of the evening, some of Dundee's sharpshooters,
who had kept up, during the day, an occasional fire in the direction in
wliich they observed Mackay to move, by which they had wounded
some of his men, as already stated, took possession of some houses upon
the ascent which lay between the two armies, for the purpose of di-
recting their aim with surer effect. But they were immediately dis-
lodged by a party of musketeers despatched by Mackay 's brother, who
commanded the general's regiment, and chased back to their main body
with some loss. This skirmish Mackay supposed would soon draw on
a general engagement, and his expectations were accordingly speedily
realized.

It was within half an hour of sunset, and the moment was at
hand, when, at the word of command, the Highlanders and their allies
were to march down the hill, and, with sword in hand, fall upon the
trembling and devoted host below, whom, like the eagle viewing his
destined prey from his lofty eyry, they had so long surveyed. Having
determined, as much to please his men as to gratify his own inclination,
to lead the charge m person, at the head of the horse, Dundee exchanged
his red coat, which he had worn during the daj', and by which he had
been recognised by Mackay 's troops, for another of a darker colour, to
conceal his rank, and thereby avoid the risk of being singled out by the
enemy — a precaution justifiable by the rules of sound prudence, and quite
consistent with the highest moral courage. That nothing might be
wanting on his part to work up the feelings of his men to the highest pitch
of heroism, he harangued them in the following enthusiastic strain : —

" You are come hither to fight, and that in the best of causes ; for it
is the battle of your king, your religion, and your country, against the
foulest usurpation and rebellion. And having therefore so good a cause
in your hands, I doubt not but it will inspire you with an equal courage

• • Stewart's Skclches, vol. I. p. 63.

162 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

to maintain it ; for there is no proportion betwixt loyalty and treason,
nor should there be any betwixt the valour of good subjects and trait-
ors. Remember that to-day begins the fate of your king, your religion,
and your country. Beiiave yourselves, therefore, like true Scotsmen,
and let us by this action redeem the credit of this nation, that is laid
low by the treacheries and cowardice of some of our countrymen, in
making which request, I ask nothing of you that I am not now ready
to do myself. And if any of us shall fall upon this occasion, we shall
have the honour of dying on our duty, and as becomes true men of
valour and conscience ; and such of us as shall live and win the battle,
shall have the reward of a gracious king and the praise of all good
men. In God's name, then, let us go on, and let this be your word —
King James and the church of Scotland, which God long preserve ! " *

A pause now ensued, and a death-like silence prevailed along the
line, when, on a sudden, it appeared in motion, marching slowly down
the hill. The Highlanders, who stript themselves to their shirts and
doublets, and whose appearance resembled more a body of wild savages
than a race of men, who, although they could not boast of the civiliza-
tion of the inhabitants of tiie south, were nevertheless superior to them
in many of the virtues which adorn humanity ; advanced, according to
their usual practice, with their bodies bent forward, so as to present as
small a surface as possible to the fire of the enemy, the upper part
of their bodies being covered by their targets.

To discourage the Highlanders in their advance by keeping up a
continual fire, Mackay had given instructions to his officers command-
ing battalions, to commence firing by platoons, at the distance of a
hundred paces. This order was not attended to, as Balfour's regiment,
and the half of Ramsay's, did not fire a single shot, and the other half
fired very little. The Highlanders, however, met with a very brisk
fire from Mackay 's right, and particularly from his own battalion,
in which no less than sixteen gentlemen of the Macdonells of
Glengarry fell ; but, undismayed by danger, they kept steadily
advancing in the face of the enem}''s fire, of which they re-
ceived three rounds. Having now come close up to the enemy, they
halted for a moment, and having levelled and discharged their pistols,
which did little execution, they set up a loud shout and rushed in upon
the enemy sword in hand, before they had time to screw on their bay-
onets to the end of their muskets.j- The shock was too impetuous to
be long resisted by men who, according to their own general, " behav-
ed, with the exception of Hastings's and Leven's regiments, like the
vilest cowards in nature." But even had these men been brave, as
they were pusillanimous, their courage would not have availed them, as
their arras were insufficient to parry off' the tremendous strokes of the

• M,-iC|)lier5on's Original Papers, vol. i. p. 71.
t From this circumsiance Mackay invented tlie present plan of fixing the bajonat

BATTLE OP KILLIECHANKIE

axes, and the broad and double-edged swords of the Highlanders, who
with a single blow, either felled their opponents to the earth or struck
otf a member from tlieir bodies, and at once disabled them. While the
work of death was tlius going on towards the right, Dundee, at the
head of the liorse, made a furious charge on Mackay s own battalion, and
broke tlirough it, on wliicli the English horse which were stationed be-
hind, tkd without firing a single shot. Dundee, thereupon, rode off to
attack the enemy's cannon, but the officer who had tliat morning pro-
duced his commission as colonel of the horse, did not keep pace witli
Diuidee, who, on arriving near the enemy's cannon, found himself alone.
He, tlicrefore, gave the horse a signal to advance quickly, on which the
earl of Dunfermline, who then served only as a volunteer, overlooking
the affront which liad been put upon him, rode out of the ranks, fol-
lowed by sixteen gentlemen, attacked the party who guarded the can-
non antl captured them.

As soon as Mackay perceived that Dundee's grand point of attack
was near the centie of his line, he immediately resolved to attack the
Highlanders in flank with tlie-two troops of horse wliicli he had placed
in the rear of his line, for wliich purpose he ordered Lord Eelhaven to
proceed round the left wing with his own troop, and attack them on
their right flank, and he ordered at the same time the other troop to
proceed in the contrary direction, and assail them on their left. Mackay
himself led round Belhaven's troop, but it had scarcely got in front of
the line when it got into disorder, and instead of obeying the orders to
wheel for the flank of the enemy, after some confused firing it turned
upon the right wing of Lord Kenmure's battalion, which it threw into
disorder, and wliicli thereupon began to give way.

At tliis critical moment Mackay, who was instantly surrounded by a
crowd of Highlanders, anxious to disentangle his cavalry, so as to enable
him to get them formed, called aloud to them to follow him, and putting
spurs to his horse galloped through the enemy, but with the exception
of one servant whose horse was shot under him, not a single horseman
attempted to follow their general. When he had gone sufficiently far to
be out of the reach of immediate danger, he turned round to observe
the state of matters, and to his infinite surprise he found that both
armies had disappeared. To use his own expression, " in the twinkling of
an eye in a manner," his own men as well as the enemy were out of sight,
having gone down pell-mell to the river where his baggage stood. The
flight of his men must have been rapid indeed, for although the left wing,
which had never been attacked, had begun to flee before he rode off, tiie
right wing and centre still kept their ground.

Mackay now stood in one of the most extraordinary predicaments in
which the commander of an army was ever placed. His whole men had
as if by some supernatural cause, disappeared almost in an instant o(
time, and he found himself standing a solitary being on the niountain
side, not knowing what to do, or whither to direct his course. Whether

IR4 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Uaii tliey liaj the courage to follow him, the timid troop would have
turned the tide of victory in his favour, may indeed be well doubted ;
but it is obvious that ho adopted the only alternative which could render
success probable. Judging from the ease witli which he galloped
throngh the Highlanders, who made way for him, he thinks that if he had
had but fifty resolute horse such as Colchesters, he " liad certainly,"
as he says, "by all human appearance recovered all," for although his
whole line had begun to give way when he ordered the horse to follow
him, the riglit of the enemy had not then moved fromtheirground.* While
ruminating upon the "sad spectacle" which he now beheld, his mind
preyed upon by the most gloomy reflections, he fortunately espied to the
right, " a small heap of red coats," which he immediately galloped for,
and found it to consist of a part of the earl of Leven's regiment nii.\ed
with a few stragglers from other regiments who had escaped from the
swords of the Highlanders. The Earl himself, his Lieutenant-Colonel,
the Major, and most of tiie other officers of tlie regiment, were with this
body, and were thanked by Mackay for their steadfastness, and as some
confusion had taken place in their ranks, owing to the mixture of the
stragglers with Leven's men, he directed the Earl and his officers to put
them in order to receive the enemy in case of attack. After issuing
this order, Mackay perceived a part of Hastings's regiment marching up
to the ground it had occupied at the commencement of the action. Hav •
ing rode up to this party, he was informed by the Colonel that he had
left his ground in pursuit of the enenij', a detachment of which had at-
tempted to outflank him, but having wheeled to the right upon them
with his pikes, they abandoned the idea of attacking him, and repaired
to their main bodj', which they observed among the baggage at the
river-side.

The plunder which the baggage offered was too tempting a lure for
the Highlanders, whose destructive progress it at once arrested. It was
in fact solely to this thirst for spoil tliat Mackay and the few of his men
who escaped owed their safety, for had the Highlanders continued the
pursuit, it is very probable that not a single individual of Mackay 's
army would have been left alive to relate their sad disaster.f

As soon as Mackay had got up Hastings's battalion and joined it to
tliat of Leven's, he despatched liis nephew. Captain Mackay, — who,
though he had received eight broad sword wounds on his body, was still
able to ride his horse, — in quest of such of his officers as might be within
his read), about the bottom of the hill, with orders to collect as many of

. ML-.noirs, p. 57.

+ In :i cunvei'saiion rt^specLing tlie battle belwet'ii General Wade and an old Hij;li-
laiider, who had fought at Killiecrankie, ihe latter is reported to have spoken lightly o(
Mackay as a commander, calling him a great fool, because he did not put his bag.
gage in front of his army at Killiecrankie. Wade dissented, of course, but the old man
insisted that llie baggage should have been pl:u-ed before the line, in which case IMackay,
he observed, would nave gained the battle, as the Highlanders would have first attacked
liie baggage, and wuultl have thus fallen an easy prey to ]Macka}'s army.

BATTLE OF KILLIECRANKIE. ]65

their men as they coukl and join the general ; and to induce them to
exert themselves in rallying their men, Captain .Mackay was directed to
assure tliem of his uncle's favour. Whether from tlie trepidation of the
oiKcers, or the alarm of the men, the united troops of Hastings's and
Leven's regiments could not be brought into order, a circumstance
which induced Mackaj', during tlie absence of his nephew, to visit a
garden behind his position, with llie intention of entrenching them
witldii its walls, and there wait for the junction of such of his stragglers
as might find tiieir way thither from the vale below; but as he could not
depend upon such succours, anil as, in case of attack, he saw no hope of
etfecting an escape if he shut himself up within the enclosure, lie re
solved to remain in iiis position till the arrival of his nephew.

At length, after nearly an hour's absence. Captain Mackay made his
appearance, and reported that he had fallen in with several officers ; that
some of them whom he had addressed took no notice of him ; and that
all who had survived the battle were now scattered far beyond his reacli.
While receiving this afflicting intelligence Mackay descried in the
twilight, a large body of men, who appeared to form themselves alon"
the edge of a wood on Balfour's left, where Lieutenant-Colonel Lauder
had been posted with two hundred men. As he was not yet aware of
the fate of Lauder's corps, which was among the first that fled, he supposed
that the body he had observed might either be that party or another body
of his men who had retired to the wood on the descent of the Highland-
ers, and he therefore rode off to reconnoitre them, alter directing his
officers to endeavour to put their men in a condition to fire one dis-
charge, at least, if attacked. Mackaj' approached the party sufficiently
near to discover that they were Dundee's men, and having turned his
horse's head he walked slowly back, that he might not excite the appre-
hensions of the Highlanders. The situation of Mackay was extremely
embarrassing, but he conducted himself throughout with a presence of
mind which few men would have displayed under such circumstances.
The ground on which Mackay stood with the wreck of his army,
amouuting to scarcely four hundred men, was the farthest removed of
any other part of the position he had selected in the morning, from the
point to which he was necessarily obliged to direct his retreat, and over
the intervening space he could not but expect to fall in with parties of
the Highlanders, who would fall upon him, and kill or disperse his tired
followers. But he extricated himself from tlie difficulties which beset
him, with considerable adroitness. He told his men that the only
way to make the enemy respect them, and thus secure a quiet retreat,
was to show no symptoms of fear, and he, therefore, earnestly ad-
monished them to march slowly and keep firmly together, as if de-
termined to maintain themselves against any attack. He advised them
on no account to show any inclination to run, as it could not add to
their pereonal safety, but, on the contrary, might endanger it the more,
as the Highlanders, observing their terror, would certainly break in

1(55 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS

among them, and pursue them with the greater avidity. He enforceiJ
this advice by reraari^ing that the fewness of their numbers wouhi be
concealed from tlie enemy by the darkness of the night, and that their
confidence might lead to a belief that they were more numerous than
they were. When about to retire down the hill the party were joined
by Lord Belliaven, a Lieutenant and Cornet of Annandale's troop, and
four or five horsemen, who proved very serviceable as scouts during tlie
retreat. Mackay then led his men slowly down the hill and evaded
the enemy so completely that he did not meet with the least interru])-
tion in his marcli. He retired across the Garry without molestation,
and made a short halt to ascertain whether he was pursued. Seeing no
disposition on the part of the Highlanders to follow him, he began to
think of the best way of retiring out of Athole. All his officers advised
him to return to Perth through the pass of Killiecrankie, but he saw pro-
per to reject this advice, and resolved to niarcli several miles up Athole
and cross over the hills to Stirling. It was represented to him, that if
pursued by the Highlanders, his men could make no effectual resistance,
and he himself admitted that the objection was well founded ; but he
still adhered to his resolution, because, as he apprehended more danger
from Dundee's horse than fiom the Highlanders, who would be too
busy securing their plunder to think of pursuing him, his risk would be
less by keeping upon ground inaccessible to the operations of cavalry,
than by exposing himself in the open country beyond the pass. Be
sides, he had no certainty that the pass was not already secured, for
tlie purpose of cutting oil' his retreat, and to have entered it, if seized
upon, would have been throwing himself into the jaws of instant de-
struction.

Giving orders, therefore, to his men to march, he proceeded to the
west along the bank of the river, and had the satisfaction, when about
two miles from the field of battle, to come up with a party of about one
hundred and fifty fugitives almost without arras, under the command of
Colonel Ramsay, who was quite at a loss what direction to take.
Mackay then continued his march along the edge of ^rivulet which
fidls into the Garry, till he came to some little houses. Here he ob-
tained from one of the inhabitants, information as to the route he meant
to follow, and having made himself acquainted, as far as he could, by
an examination of his map, with tlie situation of the country through
which he had to pass, he crossed the stream and proceeded across the
hills towards Weem castle, the seat of the chief of the clan Menzies,
whose son had been in the action with a company of a hundred High-
landers he had raised for the service of the government. He reached
the castle before morning after a most fatiguing journey, where he ob-
tained some sleep and refreshment, of which he stood greatly in need,
having since his departure before Dunkeld, on the morning preceding,
marched about forty miles through a track of country, the greater part
of which was beset with quagmires and precipices.

BATTLE OF KILLIECRANKIE. 167

The news of Mackay's defeat had pi-eeeded his retreat ; and on his
march during the following day, he found the country through which
he passed in an uproar, and every person arming in favour of King
James. The people of Stratlitay alarmed at the approach of JIacliay's
men, whom tliey took to be Highlanders, and considering their houses
and cattle in ilanger, set up a dreadful sliout, which so frightened INIac-
kay's men that they began to tlee back to the hills under an apprehen-
sion that tlie Higldanders were at hand. Mackay and some of his
oltieers on horseback, by presenting tiieir pistols and tlireatening the
fugitives, succeeded in rallying tliem, but owing to the thickness of the
morning more than a hundred escaped, all of w hom were killed, stripped,
or taken prisoners by tlie country people.* Mackay continued his
march with very little halting all tliat day, being Sunday the twenty-
eighth of July, and arrived late at night at Drunimond castle in which
he had a garrison. Next day he reached Stirling with about four hun-
dred men.

On the morning alter the battle — for night had thrown its sable cur-
tain over the horrors of the scene, before the extent of the carnage could
be ascertained — the field of battle and the ground between it and the
river, extending as far as the pass, presented an appalling spectacle in
the vast numbers of the dead which strewed the field, and whose muti-
lated bodies attested the savage and unrelenting ferocity with which IMac-'
kay's men had been hewn down by the Highlanders. Here might be
seen a skull which had been struck off above the ears by a stroke from a
broad-sword — there a head lying near the trunk from which it had been
severed — here an arm or a limb — there a corpse laid open from the
head to the brisket; while interspersed among these lifeless trunks, de-
jeclaqiie membra, were to be seen broken pikes, small-swords and mus-
kets, which had been snapt asunder by the athletic blows of the Lochaber
axe and broad-sword.f

If the importance of a victory is to be reckoned bj' the comparative
numbers of the slain, and the brilliant achievements of the victors, the
battle of Killiecrankie may well stand high in the list of military ex-
ploits. Considering the shortness of the combat, the loss on the part of
iMackay was prodigious. No less than two thousand of his men fell
under the swords and axes of Dundee's Highlanders, and about five hun-

• MacUa)'s ]\Iemt)irs, p. 61.
+ In allusion to this batUe, the author of the memoirs of Viscount Dundee, says,
"Then the Highlanders fired, threw down their fusils, rushed in upon the enemy wilh
sword, target, and pistol, who did not maintain their ground two minutes after the High-
landers were amongst them ; and I dare be bold to say, that were scarce ever such
sirolies given in Europe as were given that day by the Highlanders. Many of General
Mackay's officers and soldiers were cut down througli the skull and neck to the very
breast ; oiliers had skulls cut oil' above their ears like night-caps ; some soldiers had boih
their bodies and cross-belts cut through atone blow; pikes imd smallswords were cut like
willows; and whoever doubts of this, may consult the witnesses of the tragedy.'*

138 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

dred were made prisoners. Among the slain were Lieutenant-Colonel
Mackay, brotlier of tlie General, Brigadier Balfour, and several other
officers. Highland tradition reports that Balfour was cut down by the
Reverend Robert Stewart, a catholic clergyman, nephew to Stewart of
Ballechen, for having eontemptuouslj' refused to receive quarter when of-
fered him by the priest. The same tradition reJates that Stewart, wlio was
a powerful muscular man, followed the enemy in their Hight down to the
river, and towards the pass, wielding a tremendous broad sword, with
which he cut down numbers of the fugitives, and so much did he exert
himself in the use of his fatal weapon, that, at the conclusion of the car-
nage, his hand had swollen to such au extent, that it could only be ex-
tricated from tlie basket-hilt of his sword, by cutting away the net-
work.

But as the importance of a victory, however splendid in itself, or
distinguished by acts of indi\ idual jjrowess, can only be appreciated by
its results, the battle of Killiecrankie, instead of being advantageous to
the cause of King James, w as, by the death of the brave Dundee, the
precursor of its ruin. After he had charged at the head of his horse,
and driven the enemy from their cannon, he was about to proceed up the
hill to bring down Sir Donald Macdonald's regiment, which appeared
rather tardy in its motions, when he received a musket shot in his right
side, immediately below his armour. He attempted to ride a little, but
was unable, and fell from his horse mortally wounded, and almost im-
mediately expired.* The loss on the side of Dundee was never pro-

• The letter, of wliicli a copy is subjoined, and alleged lo have been wiilteii by Dundee
to King James, after Jie received his wound, is said to have been discovered among tile
Nairn papers, and is printed by IVIacpherson among his original papers, vol. i., p. 372.
But the authenticity of this letter may well be doubled.

1st. No contemporary writer mentions its existence, not even the king himself, wlio, in a
letter to Slenart of Ballechen, dated 30th Nov., 16S9, (Stewart's sketches, vol. i., p. ()4,)
alludes to Dundee as having fallen at the ^^ entrajice into action/*

2d. It is proved that Dundee died upon the field of battle immediately after receiving
his wound. King James says, that '• when crossing over the plaine to give some orders
on the left where the enemy made the most opposition, he was most unfortun;itclyAi7/edby
a random shot.'' Clarke's James II, vol. ii., p. 353. See also Father Ha_\ 's Collections,
vol. ii., p. 55, MS., Advocates' Library. Crawfurd's Peerage, published in 1716, and
Balcarras's Memoirs. Depositions of the witnesses who were examined before the
Parliament in the process of Irctison, appendix, pp. 50, 57, 59, lo acts of Parliament,
1690.

These authorities, which are referred to by George Smythe of Methven, Esquire, in a
note on the supposititious letter of Dundee, in a collection of Dundee's letters, piinted by
him as his contributioJi to the Batinatyne club, are supported by the following MS. note,
communicated to that gentleman by Charles Kirkpatrick Sharp, Esquire, wtiucn on a
copy of Balcarras's memoirs, in the Library of Christ Church, Oxford, upon the p.is-
sage of Balcarras relative to a bundle of papers which was found lying near Dundee on
the field, whidi, Balcarras says, those who stripped him thought of so little concern,
that they left them behind.

" N.B.— 1 spoke with some that were at that fight, and saw the N'iscount of Dundee's
corps naked ui>on the ground, and was of the number that wrapt it in a pladd, and brought
It off the field lo the Blair of .\tliole : tliey said they saw no papers, nor was there any
such rumour among them ; so that I suspect that this passage was not in Balcarras's ori

BATTLE OF KILLIECRANKIE. 1C9

perly ascertained, nor can any estimate be formed of it. According to
Mackay, the Highlanders lost six times tlie number of men that fell
on his side in the tire from his line ; but, as he says, that the fire of the
Hiohlanders did "little or no execution," the loss on the part of the lat-
ter could not consequently be very great. The brunt of Mackay 's fire
fell upon the Macdonells of Glengarry, with whom the action com-
menced, and who, of course, were the principal sufferers ; but it seems
probable, that in the inolee which followed, and in the chace to the
river, the loss of the Highlanders from the irresistible impetuosity of
their attack, and the feebleness of their opponents, would be trifling.

Among the slain, Alister Dhu (black Alexander) the chief of Glen-
garry, who, at the head of his battalion, mowed down two men at every
stroke, with his ponderous two-handed sword, had to lament the loss of
a brother, several other relatives, and still nearer and dearer to him, of his
son, Donald, surnained Gorm, from the blueness of his eyes. This
youth, who had exhibited early proofs of bravery worthy of his name,
and the race whence he sprung, killed, it is said, eighteen of the enemy
with his onn hand. No less than five cousins of Sir Donald Macdonald
of the isles fell together, with the tutor of Macdonald of Largo, and his
sons. Colonel Gilbert Ramsay, and the brave laird of Pitcur, " who,
like a moving castle in the shape of men, threw fire and sword on all
sides,"* were also numbered with the dead on this eventful day.f

ginalt narrative, but interpolated by the first gentleman that brought it from France, who,
they 6aid, was C'oekbuni of Ormiston, Justice-Clerk at the time-"

The alleQed letter from Dundee to the King is as foUows : —

» Sir,

•* It hath pleased God to give your forces a great victory over the rebels, In
which three-fourths of them are fallen under the weight of our swords. I might say
much of the action, if 1 had not the honour to command it; but of 5,000 men, which was
the best computation 1 could make of the rebels, it is certain there have not escaped 1,200.
^V . have not lost full out 900. This absolute victory made us masters of the field and
enemy's baggage, which I gave to the soldiers; who, to do them all right, both officers
and common men. Highlands, Lowlands, and Irish, behaved themselves with equal gal-
lantry to what 1 ever saw in the hottest battles fought abroad by disciplined armies; and
this M'Kay's old soldiers felt on this occasion. I cannot now. Sir, be more particidar ;
but take leave to assure your Majesty the kingdom is generally disposed to your service,
and impatiently wait for your coming; and this success will bring in the rest of the no-
bility and gentry, having had all their assurance for it, except the notorious rebels
Therefore, Sir, for God's sake, assist us, though it be with such another detachment as
you sent us before, especially of horse and dragoons; and you will crowix our Iwginning
with a complete success, and yourself with an entire possession of your ancient hereditary
kingdom of Scotland. My wounds forbid me to enlarge to your Majesty at this time,
though they tell me they are not mortal. However, 1 beseech your Majesty to believe,
whether I live or die,

" I am entirely yours,

" DUNDEE.

• Memoirs of Dundee,
t " In tills battle I.iichiel was attended by the son of his foster-brother. This faithful

170

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

In the Viscount Dundee, king James lost the only man in Scotland
possessed of all the qualifications necessary for conducting to a successful
issue the great and important charge which had been committed to him
by his sovereign. Educated in the strictest principles of toryism, he
could never divest his mind of the abstract ideas of passive obedience
and hereditary right, and to him, therefore, any attempt to resist the
authority of the sovereign, no matter how far abused, appeared highly
treasonable. Hence the unrelenting perseverance witli which he hunted
down the field conventicles, which made iiim the terror of the unfor-
tunate Whigs, and earned for him the unfortunate designation of the
" Bloody Clavers." Though a thorough-paced, and, in some degree,
a bigotted Protestant Episcopalian, the heresy of the successor of
Charles II. as the religion of James nmst have appeared to him, in
no respect altered his ideas of implicit fidelity to the sovereign, nor
did his views undergo any change when the arbitrary and unconsti-
tutional proceedings of James seemed to the leading men of the na-
tion to have solved the great political problem, when resistance should
commence and obedience end. In his eyes, therefore, the revolution
which drove the unfortunate James from his throne, was a great national
sin, which could only be atoned for by restoring to him his crown, an
object, in the accomplishment of which, he conceived all good men
were bound to lend a helping hand. These ideas ingrafted upon a tem-
perament peculiarly sanguine, made him an enthusiast in favour of
aereditary right, and his appointment by the fallen monarch as the
chosen one by whose instrumentality his restoration was to be effected,
imparted a charm to his enthusiasm which dispelled every difficulty
tvhich appeared to obstruct the grand object of his ambitioa and his
hopes. With an inflexibility of purpose, which no temptation could
overcome, he steadily pursued the course which the duty be conceived
he owed to his sovereign and the natural inclination of his own mind
directed him to follow. But Dundee had not merely the will, but what
was of no less importance, the ability, had he lived, to have executed the
commission entrusted to him. While as a military commander he had
few equals, he stood unrivalled among his cotemporaries in the art of
gaining the affections of his troops, and communicating to them a full
measure of the spirit which animated himself. His death, therefore,
was a fatal blow to James's prospects, and with him the cause of the

adherent followed him like his sliaiiow, re.idy to a-sist liijii with his sword, or cover l\iin
from the shot of the enemy. Soon after tlie baule began, the cliief missed his fiiend
from his side, and turning round to look what had become of him, saw him lying on his
back, with his bre:ist pierced by an arrow. He had hardly breath befoje he expired to
lell Lochiel, that, seeing an enemy, a Highlander in General Mackay's army, aiming at
him with a bow and arrow from the rear, he sprung behind him, and thus sheltered him
from instant death. This is a species of duty not often practised, perhaps, by an aid-de-
camp of the present day."— Slewart^s Shtches.

BATTLE OF KILLl ECR ANKIE.

171

Stuarts may be said to have perished. Dundee and his friend Pitcui
were interred in tlic chureh of Blair of Athole,*

• Dr Pitcaim's classical and elejjant tribute to the memory of Dundee is well wonii)
oC iuserlion*

Uliiine Scoto.um, potuil, quo sospite solo, j

Libertns patris salva fuisse tuie :
Te mo.'iente, novos acre il Scotia cives

Accepitque novos, le morieiite, Deos.
lUa nequit supert-sse tibi, tu non potes illi.

Ergo Caledonia! nomen mane^ vale:
Tuque vale, gentis priscie, forlisslme ductor,

Ultiine ScotiTurii, ac ultinie Grame. vale,

riius translated by Dr}den,

Oh, last and best of Scots ! who didst maintain
Tiiy country's freedom from a foreign I'eign;
New people fill the land, now thou art gone,
New grjds the temples, and new kings tlie ihronf .
Scotland and thou did each in other live ;
Nor would'st thou her, nor could she thee survive-
Farewell, who d\ ing didst support the state,
And couldst not fall but with thy country's lato .'

PASS OF KILLIECRANKIE.

CHAPTER VIII.

Ferment in Edinburgh — Forces ordered to the west — Concentration of troops at Stirling
— Advance of Macliay to Perth, who cuts otl' a party of Atliole-men— Marchof Cani^an

to the north, followed by Mackay, who enters Aberdeen— Marches to Slrathbogie

Cannan holds a council of war — Heturn of Cannan to the south— Skirmish at Brechin
—Defeat of the Highlanders at Dunkeld by the Caraeronians — Capture of the Cas.
lies of Blair and Finlarig by Mackay's forces— Plot to restore King James discovered

— Ariival of Major-General Buchan from Ireland, who holds a council of war

Marches lo the north — Skirmish at Cromdale — Marcli of Jlaikay to Inverlochv

Erection of Fort-William — Movements of Buchan and Cannan in the Lowlands A

partoftlie Farijuharsons cut olf by Colonel Cunningham — Return of Mackay to the

north — Ariives at Inverness— Retreat of Buchan — The earl of Scaforth imprisoned

Cessation of hostilities — Departure of Dundee's officers for France.

The news of Mackay's defeat reached Edinburgh on Sunday the
twenty-eighth of July, the day after the battk>, and threw the partizans
of the government, who were there assembled, into the greatest conster-
nation. In the absence of official details, the most gloomy accounts
were given by a few terrified stragglers who arrived in the capital, and
who believed that, with the exception of themselves, the whole of Mac-
kay's army had been destroyed. In the state of disorder and confusion
(vhich prevailed, the duke of Hamilton, the Commissioner to the revolu-
tion parliament, summoned a meeting of the privy council in the even-
ing, at which orders were issued to raise all the fencible men in the
west, and to concentrate all the forces in the south at Stirling, to which
point it was supposed Dundee (of whose death they were not aware)
would be rapidly hastening ; and on the supposition that Mackay was
either killed or marie prisoner, Sir John Lanier was ordered west to
take the command.

But these precautionary measures did not quiet the alarms of the
members of the parliament, some of whom were for retiring immediately
into England, and others into the western shires of Scotland. At their
entreaty, the duke of Hamilton agreed to adjourn the parliament, on the
next or following day, till October ; but as such a step might tend to
discourage the friends of the government, the parliament, on meeting,
adjourned its sittings for two days only. A proposal was made to set
at liberty all the state prisoners ; but it was negatived after some dis-
cussion, and a resolution adopted to confine them still closer than they
had yet been, and to prevent all communication between them and their
friends. But although they were cut off from the society of theii

ADVANCE OP MAIKAY TO PERTH. 173

Iriendii, tliey, as Lord Balcarras, himself a prisoner, observes, Ii;ia never
before so many visits from their enemies, who, anticipating another
order of things, made many excuses for their past conduct, protcstea
that they had always wished well to the prisoners, and when an oppor-
tunity should occur, would give proofs of such disposition.

During two entire days the ferment continued in the capital, and
every hour added to the fears of those « ho had most to dread from a
counter-revolution. At length, when the minds of men were wrought
up to the highest pitch of terror and dismay, intelligence was receive*'
of the death of Dundee, and shortly thereafter a despatch from General
Macliay to the duke of Hamilton arrived, giving an account of the
battle, and of his safe retreat to Stirling. An event so unlooked for
and so important as the death of the only man in whom the hopes of King
James rested, and from the decision of whose character the supporters
of the revolution settlement anticipated the most fearful consequences,
was hailed by the duke of Hamilton and his friends with transports of
jo}'. They had indeed good reason to rejoice, for altliough the battle
hiid been disastrous to their forces, the loss which King James had sus-
tained in the person of Dundee was irreparable.

On arriving at Stirling Mackay met Sir John Lanier, who communi-
cated to him the orders that had been issued by the government on re-
ceiving the news of his defeat. So decisive had the battle of Killie-
crankie appeared to them that they had given up all idea of maintain-
ing a position on the north of the Forth, all the country beyond which
they meant to abandon to the victorious arms of Dundee, and to con-
fine their operations to a defence of the fords of the Forth, and the pass
and bridge of Stirling. In pursuance of this design orders had been
st-nt to Berkeley's regiment, whicli was quartered in the county of Aber-
deen, to retire upon Dundee, and Lanier had despatched an express to
his own regiment, which lay partly at Alnwick and partly at Morpeth,
to hasten down to Scotland. This plan, however, was disapproved ol
by Mackay, and, he therefore, as he says, " resolved to alter these mea-
sures, (knowing how hard a pull we would have,) of the Scots war,
if he lefl the north, which are absolutely the best men of that kingdom
for the war, to the discretion of the enemy, where he would not only
get great numbers to join him, but also take possession of towns and
seize upon the public revenues, whereby they could form a fashion of
government, and so have more plausible ways, not only to maintain but
also to engross their party, than ever they have had." *

For these reasons Mackay determined to take the field again without
delay, and to give, as he observes, " some eclat to the service, and
hinder the disaffected of the shires of Perth and Angus to rise in arms
against the government," he resolved to march direct to Perth with the
forces which were at hand, and place a garrison there. Fortunately

• Memoirs, p. fi2.

174 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

«ome of the troops which the privy council had ordered to rendezvous
at Stirling were already tiiere, and otiiers were at hand. Preparatory
to his march he sent Sir John Lanier to Edinburgh to hasten the advance
of his own regiment, consisting of nine troops of horse, and also of Hay-
ford's dragoons, consisting of eiglit troops, and ordered eight troops of
horse, and four of draj,oons, both of which Iiad been newly levied, and
Lord Colchester's regiment of horse, not above five hundred men in all,
to join liim at Stirling on the morning of Wednesday, the thirty-first of
July. Many thousands of men in the western shires were now assem-
bling of their own accord in consequence of Mackay's defeat ; but dis-
liking such auxiliaries, " whose pretensions (he says) appeared already
exorbitant enough," and who, if emploj'ed, miglit think that the govern-
ment could not be maintained without their assistance, he intimated
that he would not require their services, and ordered them to return
to their homes.

The horse and dragoons having come to Stirling as directed, were
reviewed in the park in the morning by Mackay. With these he de-
parted for Perth at two o'clock in the afternoon, giving orders to a new-
ly raised battalion of foot, consisting of Mar and Bargeny's regiments,
to follow him. He halted at a village halfway between Stirling and
Perth part of the night to avoid the risk of an ambuscade, and at
break of day pursued his march towards Perth. On his way he
could obtain no intelligence respecting the motions of the enemy, a»
he found the houses mostly deserted by their inhabitants, who had taken
up arms and had gone to join the standard of King James. On ap-
proaching the river Earn, however, Mackay's scouts, who, to prevent
loo tiraeous notice of his approach, kept only a musket-shot in advance,
were saluted with a loud " qui vive" by two horsemen. The scouts,
four in number, answered this challenge by a discharge from their
carabines, which brought down the two horsemen, one of whom was
shot dead. The other was mortally wounded, and though he spoke a
few words, was not able to answer some questions put to him for eliciting
information. As Mackay conjectured from this occurrence, that the
main body of the enemy was not far off, he altered his line of march,
and crossing a pretty steep hill to the north, reached the field of Tip-
permoor, a few miles west from Perth.

Having been informed at Tippermoor, tliat the enemy lay encamped
at Dunkeld, and that a party of their horse and foot was in Perth for
the purpose of carrying off some meal which had been sent thither by
the council for the use of Mackay's array, the general drew off his men
to the left to tlnow himself between Dunkeld and Perth, and thereby
cut off the party. When he had thus interposed himself he marched
down upon Perth, but on coming within sight of the town lie was dis-
appointed to observe that about thirty of the enemy's horse had already
crossed the Tay, and were beyond his leach. He proceeded on hia
march, and when within half a mile of the town he observed the foot

MACKAY CUTS OFF A PAKTY OP ATHOLE-MEN. 175

|)ai'ty, which consisted of about three hundred Atholo-mon, approaeniii<^.
The Highlauders, who liail not tlie most distant idea that tliore was a
single enemy nearer than Stirling, were ahnost petrified with horror
when they beheld such a large body of cavalry ready to pounce upon
them, and for a time they stood quite motionless, not knowing what to
do. Apprehensive that they might attempt to escape by a ford near
the place where they stood, Mackay despatched four troops of dragoons
at full gallop to prevent their passage. The whole party on the ap-
proach of the dragoons immediately fled back in the direction of the
town. As Mackay had no foot to follow them into the town, he sent
three troops of Colchester's horse to cut off their retreat, whilst he
himself followed close with the remainder of his horse in good order ;
and as he had no certain information as to the strength of.the enemy in
the neighbourhood, he left small detachments upon the heights near the
town to watch lest any considerable force of the enemy might appear.
The Athole-men seeing that their retreat would be cut off, threw them-
selves into the Tay, whither they were followed by the horse and dra-
goons who cut them dowm in the water without mercy. Either from
stupidity or obstinacy they did not call for quarter. About one hun-
dred and twenty of the Atliole-men were killed and thirty made prison-
ers. In this affair Mackay lost one man only, who had imprudently
pursued to a distance a small party of the Highlanders.*

This unfortunate rencounter, whilst it raised the expectations of the
revolutionists, threw a damp over King James's supporters, and
augured ill lor the success of Colonel Cannan, who had assumed the
command of James's army on the death of Dundee. This officer, though
a faithful adherent of his royal master, was altogether unfit for the
command of such an army. He had little military experience, and was
totally unacquainted r/ith the habits, the feelings, and dispositions of
the Highlanders. Had Dundee lived he would probably have car-
ried his victorious army across the Forth, seized upon the capital and
dispersed the government ; but his successor did not know how to take
advantage of the victory which had been obtained, and instead of
marching instantly south, he merely advanced to Dunkeld, about six-
teen miles from the field of the recent battle, where he remained en-
camped for several days, when the party he had sent to Perth was
attacked and almost destroyed by the indefatigable Mackay.

At Dunkeld, Cannan was joined by the Stewarts of Appin, the Mac-
gregors and the Athole-men under Lord James Murray, of which cir-
cumstance Mackay was informed soon after his arrival at Perth. In
the meantime he took care to secure the town against attack by erecting
pallisades, and sent out patroles during the night to bring notice of the
enemy should they approach the town. Cannan, however, made no

• M,ickay, p. 6;i— 4.

176 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

attempt to (iisturb Mackay, and after passing several days at Dunkeld
in inactivity, he raised his camp and proceeded northwards along the
skirts of the Grampians with a force of about three thousand men. It waa
the intention of Mackay to have returned to Edinburgh to consult with
the privy council as tj tlie be>t means of speedily settling the peace of the
kingdom, and to leave Mar and Bargeny's regiments and six troops of
cavalry in garrison at Perth ; but on hearing of Caunan's movement to
the north he abandoned his intention, and after despatching orders to
Sir John Lanier to proceed to Perth with all possible haste along with the
horse and dragoons which were expected from England, he crossed the
Tay with his whole cavalry force, consisting of nearly fifteen hundred
men, leaving two battalions of foot behind, and advanced towards Cu-
par-Angus. At Cupar he received intelligence from some prisoners
mUo had been taken at Killiecrankie, and who had escaped on the
uiiirch north, that Cannan had marched as far as Glen Isla, about eight
miles from Forfar, where he had encamped. Mackay in consequence
continued his march to Forlar, where he learned that Cannan had made
another movement to Clova. To prevent surprise, and as his force was
weak and consisted chiefly of new levies, Mackay placed his men in tiie
fields under arms during the night, and allowed them to repose and re-
fresh themselves during the day, taking care however to send out some
scouts in the morning and to place some sentinels upon the neighbour-
ing heights to watch the motions of the enemy.

After passing two nights at Forfar in this manner, he received notice
that Cannan had crossed the mountains and had entered Braemar. As
Mackay considered that these movements of Cannan were intended by
him as a ruse to draw him north, and that when Cannan had accom-
plished his object he meant immediately to recross the mountains and
enter Angus, where he expected some reinforcements to join him, Mac-
kay sent orders to Lanier to advance to Forfar, to serve as a check
upon Cannan should he again enter Angus, and proceeded himself to
Aberdeen, which he reached the second day, to the great joy, he says, of
most of the inhabitants who were in dread of a visit from the High-
landers that very night.*

On arriving at the Braes of Mar, Cannan was joined by the Far-
quharsons, the Frasers, the Gordons of Strathdown and Glenlivet,
and by two hundred of the Macphersons. Keppoch and young Lochiel
also met him.f At Aberdeen, Mackay received an express from the
master of Forbes, informing him that Cannan had taken up a very
strong position upon his father's lauds, having the Highlands at his
back and a wood to cover him in front, and so well chosen that he
could keep up a free communication with his friends in the lower parts
of the shires 6f Aberdeen and Banff. Judging that Cannan's object in

Alcmoirs, |i. CG. t Jlfiiioiis of Dmulee.

RETURN OF THE HIGHLANDF.RS TO THE SCUTH. 177

selecting such a position was to streugtiien himself in horse from the
adjoining low country, of wliich species of force he stood in most need,
Mackay, with the view of obstructing his levies, ordered Sir Thomas
Livingston to leave the command of the forces at Inverness with Sir
James Leslie, and to repair immediately to Strathbogie with liis regiment
of dragoons, with instructions, should the enemy appear in that quarter,
to march farther to the left across the low country, and to send him de-
spatches from time to time, announcing the state of matters. At the
same time he sent an express to Sir John Lanier, ordering him to send
Hayford's regiment of dragoons to Aberdeen to strengthen him.

After remaining a day at Aberdeen, Mackay marched up Dee-side
to beat up Cannan's quarters, but learning on his march that the High-
landers had left Lord Forbes's lands and had gone north in the direction
of the duke of Gordon's territory, he drew off his men next morning at
break of day towards Strathbogie, for the purpose of covering Living-
ston's march. At Kildrummy, whither Cannan had taken his route,
he was joined by three hundred horse,* a seasonable reinforcement, had
Mackay ventured upon an engagement, but neither of the commanders
was inclined to measure their strength with each other. Mackay
having nothing but cavalry, got the start of Cannan, and reached
Strathbogie before Cannan arrived at the castle of Auchindoun, where
he intended to fix his head quarters. At Auchindoun, Cannan was in-
formed tliat Mackay was already at the castle of Strathbogie, a dis-
tance of about six miles. He, thereupon, called a council of war to
discuss the expediency of giving battle to Mackay. A preliminary
question was agitated by the Highland chiefs as to the right of the
Lowland officers to sit in the council, v/ho contended that as none of
these officers had any troops under their immediate command, and were
wholly unacquainted with the discipline of the Highlanders and their
mode of fighting, they had no right to deliberate on the subject, and
were unable to form a correct judgment on the question they were called
upon to discuss. The decision of this point lay with Cannan, who by
the advice of the earl of Dunfermline, decided the question against the
Highlanders. A judgment more unfortunate to the cause of King
James could not have been pronounced, as it gave rise to jealousies and
strifes among the officers, and when the question whether a battle
should be hazarded was put to the vote, the clans who were for fighting
Mackay immediately, found themselves in a minority.f This was fol-
lowed by a resolution to return to Athole, the reason for which will be
mentioned anon. As matters stood, the chances of victory on either
side may be considered to have been pretty fairly balanced, but subse-
quent events showed that Cannan in the present instance omitted the
best opportunity he was ever destined to have of gaining a victory
which might have decided the fate of Scotland.

• Memoirs of Dundee. t Ibid.

178 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

In the meantime, Mackay, who nad been joined by Livingston s dra-
goons the evening of the day he arrived at Strathbogie, selected ground
suitable for the description of force he had with him. Ever since he
left Perth, his men had slept in tlie open fields without a tent to cover
tliem, and they liad been greatly pinched for provisions. So hurriedly
had Mackay left Aberdeen, that he did not wait for some bread whicli
had been ordered to be prepared for his men, and so uncertain was he
of the route he might take, that he could give no directions for sending
it after him. The want of provisions was a serious obstacle, and he
found on his arrival at Strathbogie, that without a supply, for which he
relied on Aberdeen, he could not proceed farther. Being apprehensive
that the duke of Gordon's tenants would acquaint the enemy of the
stations of his outposts, who might, should an attack upon liira be con-
templated during the night, attempt to elude them, he did not place his
sentinels till it became dark, and thus prevented the country people
from acquiring any knowledge of their positions. As he was desirous
to show himself to the enemy as soon as he should be joined by Hay-
ford's dragoons, which he daily looked for, he sent out next morning
a party of a hundred horse under Sir George Gordon of Edinglassie,
to reconnoitre the enemy's position, and on the following day de-
spatched Sir George at the head of a larger party for the same purpose,
but in another direction, as he hcid been informed that Cannan, in ex-
pectation of a second visit, had laid an ambuscade for the party. While
waiting for bread for his array from Aberdeen, Mackay received intel-
ligence that Cannan had raised his camp and was in motion towards
the Dee. Although his men were almost worn out with extreme fa-
tigue, being kept under arms every night for a considerable time, and
only allowed an occasional repose by turns during the day-time, the
general resolved to follow Cannan with all possible despatch.

The cause of Cannan's movement was owing to the following cir-
cumstances. The privy council wishing to obtain possession of the
castles of Blair and Finlarig, had sent a letter to Mackay at Strathbogie
with instructions to proceed to these places before the rainj' season should
set in, for the purpose of reducing and putting garrisons into them.
Mackay, in answer, stated his inability to undertake such a service in
the face of tlie formidable force which lay so near him, and that he did
not conceive there was any necessity for being in such a hurr}', as from
the proximity of these castles to the low country, he could make him-
self master of them at any time if sufficiently strong. But he observed,
that if the council was very bent upon the undertaking, they might di-
rect Sir John Lanier to order some foot and Berkeley's regiment to join
him from Forfar, and with these and three battalions of the Dutch re-
giments, which had not been at the battle of Killiecrankic, then at
Ferth, to execute that piece of service. Upon receiving Mackay 's an-
swer, the council ordered the earl of Angus's regiment, known by the
name of the Caraeronian regiment — a band of religious enthusiasts

PERILOOS SITUATION OF THE CAMEROVIAN HEGIMENT. 179

from the west — to advance to Dunkeld, with the view, it is supposed, of
supporting Lanier. Mackay was quite averse to the employment of
these men, and he disapproved of the plan of posting them so near the
Highlands, the effect of which, he observed, would be, that they would
be instantly attacked, " because the enemy had not such prejudice at
any of the forces as at this regiment, whom they called the Cameron-
ian regiment, whose oppression against all such as were not of their
own sentiments, made them generally hated and feared in the northero
counties."* Accordingly, no sooner had they encamped at Dunkeld,
than a design was formed by some of King James's friends in Athole to
put them off, and a notice was sent to Cannan to return south with that
view, in consequence of which, he raised his camp and proceeded sud-
denly towards the Dee, as already mentioned.

Mackay followed him in the direction of Cromar, and having ascer-
tained, on arriving at the Dee, that Cannan had crossed the hills and
entered the Mearns and Angus, he made a rapid movement down that
river towards Aberdeen, as he did not consider it safe to venture his caval-
ry, which did not exceed twelve hundred men, among the mountains. On
arriving at Aberdeen, he sent an express to Sir John Lanier announcing
the advance of Cannan, and to prevent the Highlanders from making
any inroads, he sent out small parties of his men to scour the neigh-
bouring country. When Lanier was informed of Cannan's approach,
he left Forfar, where he was posted with his own and Berkeley's regi-
ment, for Brechin, near which town the enemy had advanced. Some
skirmishing took place between the advanced posts, with loss on both
sides. The Highlanders, thereupon, retired to the hills, and Lanier, who
was ignorant of the object of Cannan's march, returned to Forfav
Here he received orders from the privy council to march to the castles
of Blair and Finlarig, in consequence of which he proceeded to Cupar-
Angus the following day, where intelligence was brought him from Co-
lonel Ramsay, that the Highlanders were marching upon Dunkeld, and
he was infoi^med at the same time that the Cauieronian regiment, which
was disadvantageously posted, would assuredly be defeated, if not imme-
diately supported. Instead of sending any instructions to Ramsay, who
required his advice, Lanier delayed forwarding any answer till he should
arrive at Perth the following day, " in which interim (says Mackay), if
the providence of God had not blinded Cannan, and disheartened his
Highlanders from continuing their attack, the regiment had certainly
been lost, for they had two full days' time to carry them, and all their
defence was but low gardens, in most places not above four feet high."-|-
On Sunday morning, the eighteenth of August, the Cameronians, in
expectation of an attack, began to entrench themselves within some in-
closures about the marquis of Athole's house at Dunkeld. The country
people, in parties of ten and twenty, appeared duiing the morning on

•Memoirs, p. 60. t It>id.

IftO HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

the neighbouring hills, and about four in tlie afternoon a body of about
three hundred men drew up on a hill to tlie north of Dunkcld, whence
they despatched a messenger, who carried a halbert surmounted by a
white cloth as a flag of truce, with a letter without any subscription,
addressed to Lieutenant-Colonel Cleland, the commanding officer, of
the following tenor : — " We the gentlemen assembled being informed
that ye intend to burn the town, desire to know whether ye come for
peace or war, and do certify you, that if ye burn any one house, we
will destroy you." To which communication Lieutenant-Colonel Cle-
land replied as follows : — "We are faithful subjects to King William
and Queen Mary, and enemies to their enemies ; and if you, who send
these threats, shall make any hostile appearance, we will burn all that
belongs to you, and otherwise chastise you as you deserve."

On the first alarm of the Highlanders' approach to Dunkeld, Colonel
Ramsay sent up soma troops of horse and dragoons under Lord Car-
dross to assist the Cameronians in case of attack. This party arrived
at Dunkeld on Tuesday morning, but the Highlanders net being yet
sufficiently numerous, showed no disposition to attack the Cameronians
that day. At night, Cleland received intelligence that the fiery cross
had been sent round, and that a considerable gathering had taken place,
and next morning tht- Highlanders began to appear in large parties
among the hills, between whom and some detached parties of horse and
foot which Cleland sent out to scour the country, some brisk skir-
mishing took place during the day. The Highlanders having retired,
2leland's forces returned to Dunkeld in the evening, where Lord Car-
dross received an order from Colonel Ramsay to return instantly to
Perth, from an absurd apprehension that the cavalry could be of little
use in defending the position occupied by the Cameronian regiment.
When Cleland, who, accoiding to Mackay, was " a sensible resolute
man, though not much of a soldier,'' was informed of this extra-
ordinary mandate, he remonstrated with Cardross in the strongest man-
ner against complying with it, as the safety of his regiment might be
involved in the result ; but his lordship pleaded his instructions, which
gave him no discretionary power, and he departed for Perth the same
evening. Cleland's obvious course was to have followed the cavalry,
but though the danger was imminent, he disdained to abandon the post
which had been assigned him, and prevailed upon his men to remain
and meet the enemy at all hazards.

The parties which had appeared during the day consisted entirely of
Athole-men, whose numbers did not probably exceed five or six hun-
dred ; but in the evening they were joined by the whole of Cannan's
force, amounting to nearly four thousand. To the great surprise
and dismay of the Cameronians, this formidable body appeared at six
o'clock next morning, being Wednesday the twenty-first of August,
on the hills about Dunkeld formed in order of battle. The situation of
the Cameronians was now critical in the extreme. They had no alter-

BATTLE or DUNKF.LD. 181

uative but to fight or surrender, lor retreat was not in tneir power. A
capitulation would have been the obvious course, but the great abhor-
rence in which the Canieronians were held by the Highlanders, gave
faint hopes of obtaining the usual terms of civilized warfare from the
inveterate host which hung over them on the surrounding heights.
Thej', therefore, adopted the desperate resolution of defending them-
selves to the ix-<t oxtremit}', and they hoped, that by posting themselves
advantageously beliind the walls and enclosures adjoining the village and
Dunkeld-house, they would be able to keep the Highlanders in check
till some relief might arrive.

The Cameronian commander accordingly made the necessary prepa-
rations for defence. He first posted parties of his men in the cathedral
and steeple, and in Dunkeld-house. The remainder of his men he dis-
posed behind the walls of the adjoining gardens and parks, and along
some ditches which he caused to be thrown up to extend his line of
defence. All these arrangements were completed before seven o'clock
in the morning, about which time the Highlanders appeared moving
down the hills towards Dunkeld. Desirous to gain possession of the
town, to dislodge the Canieronians, or to draw off their attention from
the points where he meant to direct his main attack, Cannan despatcli-
ed a small train of artillery down a little hill near the town, accom-
panied by a hundred men clad in armour, who were followed by a party
of Highlanders on foot. To prevent the Canieronians from escaping
bj' the ford across the Tay, he sent two troops of horse round the town,
who took up a position betwixt the ford and the church, while two other
troops were placed at the opposite end of the town. When the par-
ty arrived at the bottom of the hill, they were opposed by a small body
if men whom Cleland had posted behind a stone wall, but after some
smart firing, this body was obliged to give way and to retire to Dunkeld-
/louse. Another party of the Canieronians, which liad been posted at
the other end of the town, was obliged also to retire. Having forced
the outposts, the whole body of the Highlanders rushed furiously into
the town, which they entered at four different points at once. The Ca-
merouians, however, firmly maintained their ground within the enclosures,
from which tliey kept up a galling and destructive fire upon the High-
landers, who in vain attempted to dislodge them. Finding their broad-
swords of little avail against the pikes and halberts of an enemy protect-
ed by stone walls, the Highlanders retired to the houses and the heights
near the town, from which they kept up a sharp though ineffectual fire
upon the Canieronians, who returned it with much better effect. The
Cameronians, however, soon sustained a heavy loss in the death of
Cleland, their brave commander, who, in the act of exhorting his men
to stand firm to their posts, was mortally wounded by two bullets, one
of which pierced his liver, and the other entered his head at the same
instant of time, within an liour after the engagement commenced.
Aware of his fate, he attempted to sain Dunkeld-house, lest hLs uien,

1S2 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

seeing him expire, might become dispirited ; but be was unable to roacli
the threshold, and expired in their presence.

During three hours an incessant firing was kept up on both sides,
which might have continued for several hours longer without producing
anv definite result, unless, indeed, the ammunition of either party had be-
come exhausted. Probably from the dread of such a contingency, which
would have been fatal to the Cameroniaiis, Captain Munro, to whom,
on tlie death of Cleland, the command had fallen, reoolved to attempt to
dislodge the Highlanders from the houses by setting the town on fire. He
accordinglj' sent into the town several small parties of jiikemen witli burn-
ing faggots upon the points of their pikes to set fire to the houses in which
the Highlanders were posted, and who executed their orders with such
promptitude, that in a short time the whole town was in a conflagration.
The scene which the town now presented, was one of the most heart-
rending description. The din of war was indeed no longer heard,
but a more terrific sound had succeeded, from the wild shrieks and ac-
cents of despair which issued from the dense mass of smoke and flame
which enveloped the unfortunate sufferers. To add to the calamity, the
pikemen had locked the doors of such of the houses as had keys stand-
ing in them, and the unhappj' intruders being thus cut off from escape,
perished in the flames. No less than sixteen Highlanders were, in conse-
quence burnt to death in one house. With tlie exception of three houses,
possessed by the Cameronians, the whole of the town was consumed.

The Highlanders finding their ammunition all spent,* and seeing
that they could no longer maintain themselves among the ruins of the
town, began to retire to the hills about eleven o'clock, after having sus-
tained a loss of about three hundred men. The Cameronians, whose
loss was trifling, on seeing the Highlanders depart, set up a loud shout,
threw up their caps, beat their drums, and waved their colours in token
of triumph, demonstrations which must have been exceedingly galling
to the feelings of the Highlanders, who only four hours before had as-
sured themselves of an easy conquest. It is stated in the Cameroniaii
account of the battle, that an attempt was made by Cannan to induce
the Highlanders to renew the attack, but they declined, for this reason,
that although still ready to fight with men, they would not again en-
counter devils.f To show their gratitude to God Ibr " so miraculous
a victory," the Cameronians spent a considerable part of the afternoon
in singing psalms of praise and thanksgiving.

The Highlanders were greatly discouraged by the repulse which they
sustained at Dunkeld, and they attributed tlie misfortune to the incapa-
city of Cannan, in whom they in consequence lost confidence. Perceiving
tliat they could no longer keep the field with any probabilit}' of success
under such a commander, tliey retired to Blair, and after entering into a
bond of association to support the cause of King James, and i'or mutual

* liuh'^irriis. t ^'lo u"<^ Diury or Culonel Blockuder.

DISPERSION OF THE HIGHLANDERS. 18^

protection, they departed for their homes, leaving Cannan and
his Irish troops and the few lowland gentlemen to shift for them-
selves. Cannan went to Mull and resided with the chief of Mac-
lean. *

• "We, LoidJames Murray, Patrii-k Stewart of Ballechan, Sir John M'Lean, Sir
Donald M'Donjtld, Sir Kwen Cameron, Glenparie, Benbecula, Sir Alexander Mac-
Lean, Appin, Enveray, Keppoch, Glencoe, Strowan, Calochele, Lieut.-Col. McGre-
gor, Bara, Large, M'Naughten, do hereby bind and oblige ourselves, for his Majesty's
service and our own safeties, to meet at the day

of September next, and bring along with us fencible men. That is to

Bay, Lord James Murray and Ballechan Sir Jolm M'Lean 200, Sir Donald

M'DonaldSOO, Sir Ewen Cameron 200, Glcngarhf 200, Benbecula 200, Sir Alexander
M*Lean 100. Appin 100, Enveray 100, Keppucb 100, Lieut. -Cnl. M'GregorlOO, Ca-
lochele 50. Strowan 60. Bara 50, Glencoe 50, M'Naugliten 50, Large 50 ; but in c^e
any of the rebels shall assault or attack any of the above-named persons betwixt the date
hereof and the said day of rendezvous, we do all solemnly promise to assibt one another to
the utmost of our power, as witness these presents, signed by us at the ca^ile of Blair,
the 24th of August, 1689 years— Al. Robertson, D. M'Neil, Alex. M'Donald, Do.
M'Gregoi, Alex. M'Dunell, D. M'Donald. D. M'D. of Benbecula, Al. M'Dunald,
Tho. Farqrson, Jo. M'Leane, E. Cameron of Lochiel, Al. Stuart."— iiecor^/s o/ Par-
iiament.

Seven da>s before the date of this bond, these associates, and other fiiends, sent the
following characteristic letter to Mackay, in answer to a friendly invitation from him
to lay down their armsi —

" Birse, ITtli August, 16S9.

'* We received your letter from Sirathbngy, and we saw that you wrote to
Brigadier Cannan from St Jidmstuun, to which we gave a civil return, for by telling
that you support yourselves by fictions and stories (a thing known all the world over), is
no railing. The Christian means (as you say in your Inst) you make use of to advance
the good cause by, is evident to all tlie world, and the argument you use to move us to
address your government, is consequential to the whole ; for instead of telling us what
good Christians, men of honour, good subjects, and good neighbours, ought to do, you
tell us in both your letters, that his Majesty has hot wars in Ireland, and cannot in
haste come to us, which, though it were as true as we know it is not, is only an argu-
ment from safety and interest. And that you may know the sentiments of men of
honour, we declare to you and all the world, we scorn your usurper, and the indemni-
ties of his government; and to save you fartht-r trouble by your frequent invitations,
we assure you that we are satisfied our king will take his own time and way to manage
his dominions and punish his rebels ; and although he should send no assistance to
US at all, we will die with our swords in our hands before we fail in our loyalty and
swom allegiance to our sovereign. Judge, then, what effect Duke Hamilton's letter has
upon us; but you have got an honourable father for this story from Ireland, and al-
though we can better tell you how matters go in Ireland, and that we pity those on
whom such stories have in6uence, yet we have no orders to offer conditions to any
rebels; we allow them and his grace to believe on and take your measures by your
success, till his Majesty's farther orders. Sir, We thank you for the good meaning of
your invitation, {though we are confident you had no hope of success. ) And we will
shortly endeavour to give you a requital — and those of us who live in islands have al-
ready seen and defied the Prince of Orange his frigates. We are. Sir, your afiec-
I ionate and humble servants. Jo. MacLeane, E. Cameion of Lochiel, C. M'Kenzie,
D. Mackdonald, John Grant of Balnadaloch, Pa. Steuart, J. M'Nachtane, Alexr,
M'Donald, A. M'Nachlan, Jo. Cameron. Tho. Farqrson, H. M'Lean of Lochbuye,
Alt'Jtr. M'Donell, D. M'D, of Benbecula, R, MacNeill of Bara, D. M'Neill, Ra.
M'Donald, J. M'Donald, Alexr. Maclaine. We have returned yuur letter from Duke
Hamilton, because you have more use for it than \\e."~- ParUamentary Etconh,

184 HISTORY OF THE HIOHLANDS.

In the meantime Macka}' left Aberdeen for the purpose of joining
Lanier, leaving behind him Sir Thomas Livingston, with his regiment
and nine troops of cavalry, to keep the adjoining northern counties in
awe. At Brecliin he learnt that Lanier had received an order from the
privy council to marcli into Athole, in consequence of which infor-
mation he sent an express to him to delaj' his march till he should
join him, a junction which he effected at Perth on the twenty-sixth of
August. He thereafter left Perth, with the greater part of the forces
which he found there assembled, and took the route to Blair. It was
clearly the interest of James's party to have burned the castle of Blair,
so as to prevent Mackay from placing a garrison in it to overawe the
neighbouring country ; but if such was the intention of the Highlanders,
they were deterred from putting it in execution by a message from
Mackaj', who threatened, in the event of the castle being burnt, to
raze every house in Athole to the ground, and to burn and destroy all
the corn in that country. Mackay remained ten days at tlie castle of
Blair, during which time many of tiie Athole people took advantage of
an indemnity which he ofl'ered them, and delivered up their arms. Hav-
ing placed a garrison of five hundred men in the castle, and given orders
to raise a pallisade and breast-work round it, he was forced to return
to Perth in consequence of continual rains, which made him also forego
a resolution he had entertained of marching to the head of Loch Tay,
and, placing a garrison in the castle of Finlarig, belonging to the earl
of Breadalbane, who, according to him, was " one of the chiefest and
cunningest foraenters of tlie trouble of that kingdom (Scotland), not for
love of King James, but to make himself necessary to the government.''*
The subsequent conduct of this nobleman fully corroborated this opi-
nion. After the rains had subsided, a detachment of two hundred men
under Lord Cardross, took possession of Finlarig castle, notwithstanding
the proprietor had, shortly before, taken the oaths to the government,
and found bail for his allegiance.

While the death of Dundee seemed to give stability to tlie govern-
ment in Scotland on the one hand, its safety appeared to be endangered
on the other, bj the jealousies and dissensions which agitated the par-
liament. Among the persons who had been instrumental in bringing
about the revolution, there were some who, although they pretended a
great zeal for I'eligion, were impelled by no other motive than personal
interest, and who, seeing that their expectations were not to be realized,
and that all the offices of trust were monopolized by a few favourites
about court, became factious and impatient, and were ready to seize
the first opportunity that ofiered of overturning the government. Sir
James Montgomery was at the head of this disaffected party, which, during
the ensuing winter, held several private meetings. The result was, that
a most extraordinary and unnatural coalition took place between the Ja-

• Memoirs, p. 72.

PKOJECTED FORT AT INVERLOCHY. 18ft

cobites and the discontented Presbyterians for the restoration of King
James. By uniting their votes in parliament tliey expected to embar-
rass the government, and make it odious to tlie people, and thereby pave
the way for the return of the exiled monarch ; I)ut their designs were
disconcerted by a discovery of the plot.

Mackay had now grown Jieartily tired of the service, and as his plans
for the subjugation of the Highlands had been treated with indifference
or neglect by the government, he became desirous to resign his commis-
sion, and retire to Holland, his adopted countrj', there to spend the
remainder of his days in peace. There was certainly nothing in tiie si-
tuation of his native country at tlic period in question to induce him to
remain. An unpaid, disorderly, and mutinous army ; an oppressed
people, a discontented nobility, a divided parliament and council ;
" church divided into two more irreconcileable factions, though both
calling themselves Protestants, than Rome and Geneva," matters
deemed of so little importance by the first reformers as scarcely to be
mentioned in their writings, preferred by the " religious zealots" of those
days to the well-being of the whole Protestant church, the Episcopal
ministers who had been ejected preaching " King James more than
Christ, as they had been accustomed to take passive obedience more
than the gospel for their text :" — these considerations all tended to dis-
gust a man of a moderate and conciliating disposition like Mackay, and
made him " look upon Scotsmen of those times in general, as void of
zeal for their religion and natural afiection, seeing all men hunt after
their particular advantages, and none minding sincerely and self-deni-
edly the common good, which gave him a real distaste of the country
and service ; resolving from that time forward to disengage himself out
of it as soon as possible he could get it done, and that the service could
allow of." * Mackay, however, failed in obtaining even a temporary
leave of absence during the winter by the intrigues of Lord Melville
and Viscount Tarbet, who, as he says, suspecting an interview with
William, who was then in Holland, to be the object of his proposed
visit thither, were afraid that he would induce William to adopt a sys-
tem different from that hitherto followed in the management of Scottish
affairs.

Mackay finding that he would not succeed in his application for leave
of absence, began to apply himself with great perseverance to accom-
plish his long-desired project of erecting a fort at Inverlochy, capable
of containing ten or twelve hundred men, to keep the western High-
landers in check. In a communication which he made to King William
on the subject, he requested to be supplied with three frigates of about
thirty guns each, ten or twelve ships of burden, and three or four
dozen of large boats, three thousand muskets, four hundred chevaux da
[rise, and two thousand spades, shovels, and pickaxes, with money suf-

• Memoirs, p. 77.
II. 2 A

186 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

ticient to purchase two months' provisions tor tliree or lour thousand
men. On receiving these supplies, he proposed to marcli with this
force through Argyle about the end of March, as far as Dunstaffnage,
where he meant to embark his men in the ships, and thence proceed
to Inverlochy, and land them under the protection of the guns of the
ships of war. No notice, however, was taken of this proposal either
by William or his ministers, notwitlistanding its importance was urged
in repeated letters from Mackay, who, in consequence, grew quite im-
patient, and threatened to throw up his commission. At length the
privy council having, at his request, written a letter to the king on
the subject, he ordered the frigates to be sent down, with some arms
and ammunition, and implements for commencing the work ; but the
required supply of money was not forthcoming, without which the
expedition could not be undertaken. Anxious, however, to get the fort
erected with as little delay as possible, Mackay offered to the privy
council to proceed to Inverlochy with a select detachment of six hun-
dred men, provided they would give him provisions for throe months ;
but although a sum of five or six hundred pounds would have almost
sufficed for this purpose, the council pleaded the impossibility of raising
the money.* In this emergency he applied to the city of Glasgow, the
magistrates of which undertook to hire vessels for transporting the de-
tachment, and to furnish him with the necessary provisions, and such
articles as he might require for completing the fort, in addition to those
sent down fi'om England.t Major Ferguson, who was appointed to
command this expedition, repaired to Glasgow ; but he was detained
there about five weeks waiting for the provisions. The news, however^
of such an armament being in preparation, and a report purposely cir-
culated by Mackay, that it was much larger than it actually was, having
reached the Highlands, had the effect of preventing many of the islanders
and the inhabitants of the adjoining mainland from joining Major-Ge-
neral Buchan, who took the field in April sixteen hundred and ninety.

Before the arrival of this officer, the Highlanders had resolved to place
themselves under the command of Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel, having
in consequence of their defeat at Dunkeld, lost confidence in Cannan, as
a commander. After that disaster, Lochiel and the other Jacobite chiefs
had represented to James the precarious state of his aflairs in Scotland,
and the necessity there was for sending them aid ; but James was too much
occupied with preparations for resisting a threatened invasion of Ireland,
by his son-in-law, to attend much to his Scottish concerns. He, how-
ever, sent over a vessel with some clothes, arms, ammunition, and pro-
visions, and a few Irish officers, among whom was Major-General
Buchan, with a commission, as commander-in-chief, of all the Jacobite
forces in Scotland.

On Buchan's arrival, a meeting of the chiefs, and principal officers,

* Mackay's Memoirs, p. 86. t Page f6.

MARCH OF MAJOR-GENERAL BUCIIAN TO THE NORTH. 187

was held at Keppoch, to deliberate upon the course they ought to pur-
sue. .\s no reinforcement had arrived from Ireland, and as the plot
between the Jacobites, and the disappointed chiefs of the Presbyterians,
which had raised the expectations of King James's partizans, had been
discovered, the meeting was divided in opinion, upon tlie expediency
of renewing hostilities. Some, thinking the cause quite desperate, pro-
posed to suljmit to the government, which they knew was quite disposed
to grant them tlie n;o-t favourable terms ; but this proposition was
warmly resisted by Lochiel, who had great influence with his fellow
chiefs. He stated that he Iiad adhered to the cause of Charles II., at a
time when it was more desperate than that of his royal brother now
was, «ho was still at the head of an army in Ireland, and who had
many friends in Britain, ready to declare themselves, when a fit op-
portunity offered ; that under these circumstances, he considered they
would disgrace themselves, if they abandoned tlie cause they had pledg-
ed themselves to defend, and that for his own part he would neither listen
to terms from the government, nor lay down his arms, without an
express order from King James himself. In consequence of this declara-
tion, tlie meeting unanimously resolved to continue the war; but as the
labours of the spring season were not over, they postponed the muster
of the clans, till those should be completed ; and in the mean time
directed Major General Buchan, to employ the interval in beating up
the enemy's quarters, along the borders ofthe lowlands, for which purpose,
a detachment of twelve hundred foot was to be placed at his disposal.*
When Mackay heard that Buchan had taken the field, he sent an
express to Sir Thomas Livingston, — whom he had despatched north
from Aberdeen to Inverness, with his regiment, in the month of January,
to watch the motions of the Highlanders, — to keep a sliarp outlook after
liuchan, who, it was supposed, would probably make a descent upon the
lowlands of Moray or Banff. Sir Thomas had at this time, besides his
own regiment of dragoons, three regiments of foot, and some troops of
horse, under his command, posted in and about the town of Inverness.
Hearing that Buchan was marching through Lochaber and Badenoch,
Livingston made two successive marches up the country, in the direc-
tion Buchan was said to be advancing, but on both occasions, he was
obliged to return to Inverness, from the great difficulty he experienced
in obtaining provender for his horses, and provisions for his troops,
without seeing Buchan, or hearing any thing concerning him. Having
ascertained that the feeling of hostility towards the government, was
rapidly extending, and that it had even reached the clans, who had
hitherto, in appearance at least, shown themselves favourably inclined
to the revolution, Livingston, thereupon, despatched a letter to Mac-
kay, acquainting him ofthe circumstance, and stating that if Buchan was
not speedily opposed, he was afraid that by far the greater part of the

IS6 HISTORY OF THE HIOHLANDS.

northern counties would join him. That he might obtain early intelli-
gence of Buchan's motions, and avoid the difficulties he had experienced
in his former marches, for want of provisions, Livingston took up a
position eight miles from Inverness, with a select body of twelve hun-
dred men, consisting of his own regiment, which amounted to three
hundred men, four hundred of Lesley's regiment, a company of one
hundred of Lord Reay's Highlanders, three hundred of Grant's High-
landers, and two troops of horse.*

On receiving Livingston's despatch, Mackay sent orders to the dif-
ferent detachments which lay at Stirling, Glasgow, Dundee, and other
places, amounting together to three thousand men, to assemble without
delay at Perth, that they might be in readiness, should a general rising
in favour of King James take place in the north, to support Livingston
and to serve as a check upon the southern Highlands. He, at the same
time, directed Lieutenant-Colonel Buchan, brother of King James's
general, who commanded the forces in the city and county of Aberdeen,
consisting of a battalion of Ramsay's regiment, the Cameronian regi-
ment, and five troops of horse and dragoons, to march upon any point
Livingston should direct.t

In the mean time Major-General Buchan was advancing through
Badenoch with the design of marching down Speyside into the duke of
Gordon's country, where he expected to be joined by some of the
vassals of that nobleman. At Culnakill he held a council of war to de-
termine whether to take up a position in that neighbourhood, where they
would be secure from the attacks of Livingston's cavalry, or proceed
farther down the Spey. As Buchan's force did not exceed eight hun-
dred men, and as they were aware that a large force of horse and foot
lay at Inverness, the Highland officers were unanimously of opinion that
they should not advance beyond Culnakill, but should march the fol-
lowing day to Glenlochy, and encamp among the adjoining woods.
Buchan, however, who appears to have been as incapable of conduct-
ing a Highland force, and as ignorant of the mode of warfare pursued
by the Highlanders as Cannan, his predecessor, now second in com-
mand, rejected this advice, and, on the following day, he marched
down the Spey as far as Crorodale, where he encamped on the last day
of April.+

Livingston was, at this time, lying within eight miles of Strathspey,
on the grounds of the laird of Grant, where he received notice the same
day from a captam in Grant's regiment, « ho, with a company of men,
held possession for the government of Balloch, now Grant castle, in the
vicmity of Cromdale, that Buchan was marching down Strathspey.
Desirous of attacking him before he should have an opportunity of be-

. Mackay's Memuii-s, p. 93. Jlackay's account says, "six companies ol'Graiil's
lliciu, malvilig about 800 men," — an evident error.

t Mackay'a Mennurs, p. W. \ Memoirs o( Dundee.

SKIRMISH OF CROMDALE. 189

ing joined by the country people, Livingston marclied otf towards the
Spey, in the afternoon, and continued his march till he arrived within
two miles of Balloch castle. As it was already dark, and the night far
advanced, and as a ditficult pass lay between him and the castle, Liv-
ingston proposed to encamp during the night ; but not finding a con-
venient place, he, by the persuasion of one of his officers who was
acquainted w ith the pass, and who undcrtooii to conduct him safely
through it, renewed his march, and arrived at tlie Dairirade or top of the
hill above the castle at two o'clock in the morning. Buchan's men were
then reposing in fancied security near Lothindie, on the adjoining plain
of Cromdale, and the fires of their camp, whicli were pointed out by the
captain of the castle to Livingston, showed him that he was much nearer
the enemy than he had any idea of. Mackay says, that had Livingston
been aware that the Highlanders were encamped so near the pass, that
he would not have ventured through it during the night, having little
confidence in the country people ; nor would the enemy, had they sus-
pected Livingston's march, left their former station and encamped upon
an open plain, a considerable distance from any secure position, "just
as if they had been led thither by the hand as an ox to the slaughter."*
As several gentlemen of the adjoining countr3' had sought an asylum
in the castle on hearing of Buchan's a-dvance, the commander, in order
to prevent any knowledge of Livingston's approach being communicated
to the Highlanders, had taken the precaution to shut the gates of the
castle, and to prohibit all egress ; so that the Highlanders were as ig-
norant of Livingston's arrival as he had previously been of their en-
campment at Cromdale. Such being the case, the commander of the
castle advised him to attack tlie Highlanders without delay, and he him-
self offered to conduct the troops into the plain. Livingston's men were
greatly fatigued with their march ; but, as the opportunity of surprising
tlie enemy should not, he thought, be slighted, he called his officers
together, and, after stating his opinion, requested each of them to visit
their detachments and propose an attack to them. The proposition hav-
ing been acceded to, the troops were allowed half an hour to refresh
themselves, after which they marched down through the valley of
Auchinarrow, to the river. Finding a ford below Dellachaple, which he
approached guarded by a hundred Highlanders, Livingston left a detach-
ment of foot and a few dragoons to amuse them, while, with his main body,
led bj' some gentlemen of the name of Grant on horseback, he marcheil
to another ford through a covered way, a mile farther down the river,
which he crossed at the head of three troops of dragoons, and a troop o(
horse, a company of his Highlanders forming the advanced guard.
After he reached the opjiosite bank of the Spey, he perceived the
Highlanders, who had received notice of his approach from their ad-
vanced guards at the upper ford, in great confusion, and in motion

♦ ilemoirs,' p. 9o.

290 HISTORY OV TUB HIGHLANDS.

towards the hills. He thereupon sent orders to a part of his regiment,
and another troop of horse to cross the river and join him ; but , without
waiting for them, he galloped ofl at full speed towards the hills, so as
to get between the fugitives — the greater part of whom were almost
naked — and the hills, and intercept them in their retreat. The
cavalry were accompanied by the company of Highlanders which
had crossed the river, and who are said to have outrun their mount-
ed companions, a circumstance wliich induced the flying Highlanders,
on arriving at the foot of the hill of Cromdale, to make a stand ;
but, on the approach of Livingston and the remainder of his dra-
goons and horse, they again took to their heels. They turned, how
ever, frequently round upon their pursuers, and defended themselves
with their swords and targets with great bravery. A thick fog,
which, coming down the side of the mountain, enveloped the fugitives,
compelled Livingston to discontinue the pursuit, and even to beat a re-
treat. According to Mackay, the Highlanders had four hundred men
killed and taken prisoners, while Livingston did not lose a single man,
and only seven or eight horses ; but Balcarras states his loss at about
one hundred killed, and several prisoners ; and the author of the ' Me-
moirs of Dundee ' says, that many of Livingston's dragoons fell.* A
party of the Camcrons and INIacleans, wlio had in the flight separated
from their companions in arms, crossed the Spey the following day
but, being pursued by some of Livingston's men, were overtaken and
dispersed on the moor of Granish near Aviemore, where some of them
were killed. The rest took shelter in Craigelachie, and, being joined
by Keppoch and his Highlanders, made an attempt to seize the castle
of Lochinclan in Rothiemurcus, but were repulsed with loss by the
proprietor and his tenants.f

The news of the disaster at Cromdale was received with feelings of
dismay by the partisans of King James at Edinburgh, who began to
regret that they had not embraced an offer which had been made by
King William for a cessation of arms. On the other hand, the friends
of the government were elated with Livingston's success, and hastened
the long delayed expedition to Inverlochy, under Major Ferguson, which
accordingly set sail from Greenock on the fifteenth of May. Having ob-
tained the consent of King William to march into Lochaber, Mackay
made preparations for the expifdition ; and, although the earl of Melville,
the commissioner to the Scottish parliament, gave him notice of some dan-
gerous plots against the government both in England and Scotland, which
might require the presence of a large force in tiie lowlands to check,

• Shaw (History of Moray) says that above a hundred of Biichan's men were killed,
and about sixty made prisoners, who were found in the castle of Lethindie and the mill,
and he adds, as a diing ileserving of remark, that " Colonel Macdonald of Keppoeli, who
was ever keen for plunder, had never once fouglit for his king, would not encamp with
the other rebels, but with his men guarlercd at Gai-vlin, half-a-mile distant, and thereby
esfaped without loss."

t Sliaw's Moray.

ARRIVAL OF MACKAV AT INVERLOCHY. 191

yet, as he considered the subjugation of tlio Highlands of primary im-
portance, he resolved to proceed on his expedition ; and, accordingly, on
the eighteenth of June, marched from Perth at the head of about tlirce
tliousand horse and foot. As his route to Inverlochy would bring him
within a short day's march of the enemy, and as lie was desirous — agree-
ably, as he says, to a military maxim, " without necessity, to put nothing
to an apparent hazard, when the success is of great importance,'' — to
avoid an engagement in a country full of defiles and difficult passes till
he should join the forces in the north under Sir Thomas Livingston,
he resolved to march towards Strathspey, and thence through Bado-
noch into Lochaber. To conceal his design of marching north from the
enemy, after entering Athole, he made a movement as if he intended to
enter Badenoch by the nearest route, and then turning suddenly to the
right, took the road to Strathspey. Having joined Livingston in Strath-
spey on the twenty-sixth of June, the united forces, after a day's rest,
marched towards Badenoch.

The Highlanders who, after their dispersion at Cromdale, had re-
turned to their homes, had re-assembled on hearing of iNIackay's ap-
proach ; but, from the fewness of their numbers, tliey made no attempt
to obstruct his passage through Badenoch. Being informed that they
had taken possession of a strait and difficult pass through which they
expected him to march, he, on the first of Julj', — the very day on which
the celebrated battle of the Boyne was fought, — made a feint with four
troops of horse and dragoons as if he intended to pass that way, for the
purpose of deceiving the enemy r after which he suddenly changed his
march to the left, having given orders, previously, to the officer com-
manding the four troops to retire and join his rear guard after he should
have halted sufficiently long to give time to tlie countrj' people in the
neighbourhood of the pass to send intelligencers to announce his ap-
proach in that direction to the enemy. After traversing mountains and
bogs, he entered Lochaber by Glenspean the same night and arrived at
Fnverlochy on the third of tlie month.*

The site of the old fort, which had been erected by Oliver Cromwell,
did not please JMackay, as it was commanded by a neighbouring hill ; but,
as a more eligible one could not be found, he commenced the work on
the fifth of the month, and, in eleven days the wall was raised to
its full intended height of twenty feet from the bottom of the fosse, and
pallisaded round with a chemin convert and glacis. Having finished
the fort, which was named Fort-William, in honour of the king, he
was about proceeding to send a detachment into the isle of INIuU to re-
duce it, but receiving despatches from the privy council announcing the
defeat of the English and Dutch fleets, and requiring his return to the
South as soon as possible, with as many of his forces as could be
spared, in consequence of an expected invasion from France, he

• Memoirs, p. 98.

192 HrSTORY OF IIIE HIGHLANDS.

marched from Inverlochy for the South on the eighteenth. leaving be.
hind him one thousand men in garrison in the new fort. He arrived in
Badenoch on the twentieth by easy marches, and leaving his army in
camp the vhole of the twenty-first to rest themselves, he went with
a party of one hundred and fifty horse and dragoons to inspect Rutli-
ven castle which the Jacobite forces had burnt the preceding year.
Here he left the company of Lord Reay's Highlanders w ith instructions
to the commander to raise a breastwork round an old square wall, with-
in which the gari'ison might remain secure against surprise or attack.
He then descended into Athole, and arrived at Perth on the twenty-
sixth of July, being little more than five weeks since he set out on
his long projected expedition.

During his absence Major-General Buchan and Colonel Cannan, each
at the head of a select body of cavalier horse, had been scouring the low
country. The latter, in particular, with two hundred horse, had attacked
Lord Cardross's dragoons who were stationed in Menteith, and had pur-
sued them down as far as the park of Stirling. On his arrival at Perth
Mackay w as informed of the proceedings of Cannan's party, whence he
sent orders to the troops at Stirling to march out in quest of them, wliile
he himself, after receiving a supjily of biscuit from Dundee, resolved to
march from Perth with a detachment for the purpose of intercepting
them ; but Cannan had passed through the heights of Athole towards
Braemar before the troops at Stirling left that town. Mackay followed
after them for two days with a force of a thousand men, but was
unable to overtake them. Being unprovided for a longer marcli, he re-
turned on the third day to Stirling, whence he despatched three troops
of Cardross's dragoons, and one of horse, to support the master of For-
bes who was guarding Aberdeenshire with four troops of horse and dra-
goons.

Buchan and Cannan having united their forces, and being joined by
Farquharson of Inveray, at the head of five or six hundred of Braemar
Highlanders, descended into the adjoining low parts of Aberdeenshire,
Mearns, and Banff, to unite themselves to some of the country Jacobite
gentlemen, leaving behind them a body of one hundred and sixtj- men,
to block up Abergeldie, in which Mackay still kept a garrison. They
were at first opposed on their descent into the low country, by the
Master of Forbes, and Colonel Jackson, with eight troops of cavalry,
which was fully more than sufficient to have repulsed in a level country,
any body the Highlanders could then bring into the field ; but Buchan
having purposely magnified the appearance of his forces, by ranging his
foot over a large extent of ground, and interspersing his baggage and
baggage horses among them, inspired the Master of Forbes and Jackson
with such dread, that they considered it prudent to retire before a foe
apparently so formidable in appearance, and their fears increasing after
they had begun their retreat, they set ofi' towards Aberdeen at full gal-
lop, and never looked behind, till they had entered the town, after a lace

MARCH OF MACKAY TO THE NORTH. 193

of upwards ot twenty miles.* Buchan, who liail no immediate design
upon Aberdeen, followed the alarmed cavalry, and such was the effect
of the retreat upon some of the neighbouring noblemen and gentlemen,
that some of them joined Buchan in the pursuit. The inhabitants were
thrown into a state of the greatest alarm at this occurrence, and the ne-
cessary means of defence were adopted, but Buchan made no attempt
to enter the town.

When Mackay received intelligence of this " disorder,'' as he terms
the flight of Forbes and Jackson, he instantly despatched Colonel Cun-
ningham with his own regiment, six companies of that of Beveridge, and
ten companies of Kenmure's, amounting in whole to only three hundred
men, and two troops of cavalry, to the north to join Jackson ; but Cun-
ningham was unable to effect a junction, as Cannan lay encamped between
him and Jackson. As the fears of a French invasion had subsided, Blac-
kay, on hearing of Cunningham's failure, marched north himself with
Livingston's dragoons, and fourteen hundred foot, of the three Dutch
regiments, and in such haste that he carried neither baggage nor pro-
visions along with him ; but on his way north, he learned that Buchan
had left the neighbourhood of Aberdeen, and was marching south-
ward. On hearing of Mackay's advance, Buchan drew off his men
to the right, and crossed the hills. Mackay was obliged to halt a
few days for provisions, and in the mean time ordered Jackson to
join him. On arriving at the Dee, he left Cunningham with a detach-
ment at the castle of Aboyne, to cover Jackson's march, and proceeded
with his own division to raise the siege of Abergeldie. In the course
of this march, a party of sixty dragoons, under Major Mackay, fell in
among the hills, with a body of two hundred Highlanders, under In-
veray, all of whom were cither killed or made prisoners. The chief
himself made a very narrow escape, having been trampled under the
horses' feet, and left for dead on the field, by the dragoons. ISIackay
also laid waste the fertile country about Abergeldie, to the extent of
twelve miles round, and burnt from twelve to fourteen hundred houses,
by way of reprisal, for having blocked up the garrison.f

Having united all his forces in the north, with the exception of ttiose
which lay at Inverness, Mackay marched as far north as Strathdon,
where he received information, of rather a doubtful character, that the
enemy were moving in the direction of the county of Moray, and were
threatening Elgin. He obtained, however, other intelligence of a less
equivocal description, namely, that the greater part of the north was hos-
tile to the government, and was ready to rise in arras, which information
made him at once resolve to proceed nortli with all possible haste with his
cavalry, in order to get Buchan 's force dispersed, before any general ris-

• " His mastership (of Forbes) understanding the word of command, wheel, better than
advance, turned the battle into a race, and won; for he was first at Aberdeen, and
alarmed the town with a frightful outcry. The enemy, the enemy's coming." — Memoirs oj
Dundee,

\ Mackay's Memoirs, p. 101. Appendix, No. 72.
U. o a

29^ HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

ing should take place. Leaving therefore his foot behind, «liom he in-
structed to return to Aberdeen for a supply of provisions, should they
receive no orders to the contrary in a day or two at farthest, he pro-
ceeded north with his cavalry in great haste, and in the course of his march,
was informed to a certainty, that Buchan was not only on his way
north, but that he expected to be joined by several thousand Higli-
landers. He, therefore, continued his march with great celerity, allowing
his men no more time than was absolutely necessary for refreshing their
horses, and arrived within four hours' march of the enemy, before they
received any notice of his approach. Buchan had reached Inver
ness, and was only waiting for the earl of Seaforth's and other High-
landers, whom he expected to join him to have attacked the town,
but on hearing of Mackay's advance, he crossed the river Ness, and re-
tired up along the north side of the Loch.

The earl of Seaforth, afraid of the consequences which might result
to him personally, for the part he had acted, sent two gentlemen of hi.s
clan to IMackay, who apologized for his conduct, and stated that although
in honour he was bound to make appear as if he favoured King James,
yet they were authorized to assure Mackay, that he had never entertain-
ed any design either to molest the government, or to join Buchan ; and
they oifered, on his part, any security Mackay might require for his
peaceable behaviour in time coming. In answer to this communication,
Mackay stated that no security short of the surrender of the earl's own
person, as a prisoner, would satisfy him, and that if he failed to comply,
he might expect to see his country destroyed with fire and sword.
Mackay wa-s, thereafter, waited upon by the earl's mother, the Countess
Dowager of Seaforth, and Mackenzie of Coul, who brought him a letter
from the earl, stating, that he would accede to such conditions as might be
agreed upon between them and Mackay. An agreement was accord-
ingly entered into, by which it was stipulated, that the earl sliould
deliver himself into Mackay's hands, to be kept as a prisoner at In-
verness, till the privy council should decide as to his future disposal ;
and to conceal this arrangement from the Jacobite party, it was farther
agreed that the earl should allow himself to be seized as if bj' surprise,
by a party of horse under Major Mackay, at one of his seats during the
night. The earl, however, disappointed the party sent out to apprehend
him, in excuse for which, both he and his mother, in letters to Mackay,
pleaded the state of his health, which they alleged would suffer from
imprisonment. The earl cannot certainly be blamed for having demurred
placing himself at the unconditional disposal of such a body, as tlie
privy council of Scotland, some of whom would not have hesitated to
sacrifice him, if by doing so, they could have obtained a share of his
estates.

Mackay was so irritated at the deception which had been practised
upon him, that he resolved to treat the earl's vassals " with all the
rigour of military execution," pursuant to which resolution, he sent

THE JACOBITE FORCES DISBANDED. JDo

expresses to Sutherland, Stratnnaver, and Balnagown, for a body ot
nine or ten hundred men, to be placed along with two hundred select
men of Strathnaver's regiment, under the command of one Major
Wishart, who knew the country well. While this force was to enter
such parts of the earl's country as were inaccessible to horse, and burn
all the houses of his vassals, and despoil them of their goods, Mackay
himself intended with his cavalry, and three battalions of foot, which
he had ordered from Aberdeen, to lay waste the lower parts of the Earl's
territory. Having, however, a warm feeling for the earl's friends, on
account of their being " all protestants, and none of the most dangerous
enemies," as he sajs, and being more desirous to obtain possession of the
earl's person than to ruin his friends, he caused information of his inten-
tions upon the earl's lands, to be sent to Seaforth's camp, by some of his
own party, as if from a feeling of friendship to him. Contrary to
Mackay 's anticipation, Scaforth surrendered himself, and was committed
prisoner to the castle of Inverness.* About this time, the earl of Argyle
with a force of nineteen hundred foot, and sixty dragoons, invaded Mull,
the inhabitants of which took the oatlis of allegiance to the government,
and delivered up their arms. He was, however, from the state of the
weather, obliged to leave the island, before effecting the reduction of
Dowart castle, and left three hundred men behind him to keep it in
check. Maclean himself, with a few of his friends, took refuge on
Carnburrow, an inaccessible rock near Mull.

King James's affairs had now become utterly desperate in Scotland,
and his defeat at the battle of the Boyne, on the first of July, sixteen
hundred and ninety, almost annihilated his hopes in Ireland. Unable to
collect any considerable body of men together, Buchan, after wandering
through Lochaber, dismissed the few that still remained with him, and
along with Sir George Barclay, Lieutenant-Colonel Graham, and other
otRcers, took up his abode with Macdonell of Glengary, and Cannan,
and his oflicers retired to the isles, under the protection of Sir Donald
Macdonald. In their retreats, these officers who had displayed the
most heroic attachment to the cause of the unfortunate King, under the
most trying circumstances, still continued to cherish some distant hopes
of his restoration, and were prepared to enter upon any service, however
hazardous, which might, by possibility, lead to such a consummation.

• " I believe itsb:illfare so with the ear] of Seaforth, that is, that he shall haply, (per-
haps) submit, when his countrey is ruined, ami spojled, which is the character of a true
Scotsman, wt/se behinde the liand !" — Letter to the Privy Council, 1st Sept. 1690. Ap-
pendix to Memoirs, No, 73. Mackay was directed by the privy council, bv warrant,
dated 7tli Oct. 1690, "to transport the person of Colin, earl of Seaforth, with safety from
Inverness to Edinburgh, in such way and manner, as he should think fit." In conse-
quence of this removal, he was entered a prisoner within the castle of Edinburgh, on 6th
Nov. following, whence he was liberated on 7th Jan. 1792, on finding caution to appear
when called upon. He was bound not to go ten miles beyund Edinburgh. He was again
imprisoned, but made his escape, and was apprehended at Pencaitland, on 7th May, 1692,
and again kept in close confinement, within the castle of Edinburgh. He was after .vards
liberated, on giving security for his peaceable behaviour. — Hecords of the Privy Corincil,

105 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS

At length, seeing no chance of making a successful effort in favour of
James, they, in connexion with the chiefs, sent over the earl of Dunfermline
to France in spring, sixteen hundred and ninetj'-one, to represent to
him the .state of matters, and to receive his commands. Having re-
ceived instructions from his majesty to enter into a negotiation with
the government, a meeting of the principal officers and the Jacobite
chiefs was held at Auchalader in Glenorchy on the thirtieth of June,
which was attended by the earl of Breadalbane on the part of tlie gov-
ernment, at which a cessation of hostilities was agreed upon till the first
of October. To induce the chiefs to submit to the government, money
and other inducements were held out to them by Breadalbane, at
whose disposal a sum of £15,000 had been placed by King William
They, however, declined to come to any definite arrangement at this
time, and requested liberty to send Sir George Barclay and Major
Menzies to France, to obtain the sanction of King James, to enter
into a treaty with the government, a request which was reluctantly
granted. After learning from these officers the miseries to which the
clans were reduced, and the utter hopelessness of attempting another
campaign under existing circumstances, James allowed them to make
the best terms they could with the government. Accordingly, and in
terms of a proclamation issued by the government on the twenty-seventh
of August, sixteen hundred and ninety-one, promising an indemnity to
all persons who had been in arms, and who should take an oath of
allegiance to the government before the first of January following ; all
the chiefs, with one unfortunate exception, which will be afterwards
noticed, gave in their adherence, and took the oath within the pre-
scribed time. Buchan and Cannan with their officers, in terms of an
agreement with the government, were transported to France, to which
country they had asked and obtained permission from their ro3'al master
to retire, as they could n > longer be serviceable to him in their native
land.

CHAPTER IX.

Uislory of Dimdeu's officers ufiei- tlicir retinment to France.

The page of history does not present a more noble and disinterested
instance of fidelity and stern attacliment to the cause of fallen greatness
than that exhibited in the conduct of those gallant men, who, after un-
dergoing the greatest hardships, and exposing their lives to imminent
peril, still clung, now that all hopes of King James's restoration seemed
to be at an end, to the fortunes of the exiled monarch, with an in-
flexible pertinacity which no adversity could subdue. Individual cases,
displaying the same devoted and deep-rooted attachment to unfortunate
princes, are not uncommon ; but to see a body of about one hun-
dred and fifty men, all, or the greater part of whom were gentlemen of
familj', and who might have retired with honour to themselves, and with
the approbation of him whom they had so faithfully served to enjoy
the sweets of domestic repose, simultaneously impelled by a high and
chivalrous feeling of loyalty, sacrificing upon the altar of principle
every thing which could contribute to their ease and happiness, and
expatriating themselves, is an occurrence which can scarcely be paral-
leled in the records of monarchy. The following account of Dun-
dee's officers, after their departure for France, will serve to close the
history of his ill-fated insurrection : —

When landed in France, these officers were sent to Lisle, Burburgh,
Arras, and other towns in French Flanders, where they were supported
and pensioned at the expense of the French government, according to
the rank they respectively held in Dundee's army. Notwithstanding
the reverses of Louis the Fourteenth, which impaired his finances, he
continued his benefactions to these faithful adherents of King James ;
but as, from the loss of the French fleet at La Hogue and Cherburgh,
and other misfortunes, they considered that the FrencJi king would not
be in a condition, for a considerable time at least, to aid in the restora-
tion of James, and as they did not wish any longer to be a burden on
the French government without performing duty, they unanimously
resolved to make a proffer of their services to Louis, and requested
permission of James to allow them to form themselves into a company
of private soldiers, under the command of such officers as they them-
selves might choose.

198 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

In making this application to King James, they assured him that
their only motive in doing so, was a desire to be as independent as
the nature of their situation would admit of, and that they were ready
and willing to fulfil all the duties required of common soldiers, until
the course of events should enable his majesty to recall them to his
service. The king, while he commended their loyalty, and approved
of the motive which actuated them, gave a decided negative to the
proposal. It was impossible, he observed, that gentlemen who had
been accustomed to command, and who had been brought up in easy
circumstances, could brook such service, and undergo the hardships
which always attended the duty of a private soldier ; that having him-
self, when an officer in France, commanded a company of officers, he
could speak from experience of the insuperable difficulties which were
opposed to the step they proposed to take, some of the officers he
commanded, having soon died from fatigue, while others, wearied and
disgusted with the service, sought for and obtained their discharges,
so that the company soon dwindled away almost to nothing, and
he got no reputation by the command. For these reasons he begged
them to abandon the project. The officers, however, intent on their
purpose, ultimately succeeded in obtaining James's consent to their
being enrolled as a volunteer corps of private sentinels. The earl of
Dunfermline was pitched upon for captain, but partly bj' the entreaties
of King James, who wished to have a nobleman of such tried fidelity
and discretion near his person, and partly by the intrigues of the court
of St Germains, the earl was induced to decline the command. This
was an unfortunate circumstance, as the officer who was selected in
place of the earl did not act fairly towards the company.

Before proceeding to the station assigned to them by the French govern-
ment, the officers repaired by invitation to St Germains to spend a few
days before taking leave of King James. Here an occurrence took place,
which, though probably intended by the officers as a jocular demonstra-
tion, made a deep impression upon the mind of the king. Understand-
ing that James was to hunt in the royal demesnes, in the neighbourhood
of St Germains, one morning, the officers, without any notice of their
intention to the court, appeared early in the garden through which
James had to pass, drawn up in a line, and dressed and accoutred
as French soldiers. Somewhat surprised at the appearance of a body of
troops in the garden at such an early hour, and little suspecting that
the men whom he saw, clothed in the garb of common French soldiers^
were his own officers, he had the curiosity to inquire who these men
were, and on being informed that these were the gentlemen who had
abandoned their country for his sake, he was seized with grief at the
destitute situation in which he now beheld them, and instead of proceed-
ing to enjoy the pleasures of the chace, retired to his palace to give vent
to his sorrow.

In a few days thereafter, previous to their departure for the south of

Dundee's officers in franck. lyg

France, whither thej' were ordered to march, about seventy of tliese
officers were reviewed in the garden by King James, who, at tlie con-
clusion of the review, addressed them as I'oUows •-

" Gentlemen,

" My own misfortunes are not so nigh my heart as yours.
It grieves me beyond what I can express, to see so many brave and
worthy gentlemen, who had once tlie prospect of being the chief offi-
cers in my army, reducetl to the stations of private sentinels. Nothing
but your loyalty, and that of a few of my subjects in Britain, who are
forced from tlieir allegiance by the prince of Orange, and who, I know,
«ill be ready on all occasions to serve me and my distressed family,
could make me willing to live. The sense of what all of you have
done and undergone for your loyaltj' hath made so deep an impression
on my heart, that if ever it please God to restore me, it is impossible
I can be forgetful of your services and sufferings. Neither can there
be any posts in the armies of my dominions but which you have just
pretensions to. As for my son, your prince, he is of your own blood,
— a child capable of any impression, and as his education will be from
you, it is not supposable that he can forget your merits.

" At your own desires you are now going a long march, far distant
from me. I have taken care to provide you with money, shoes, stock-
ings, and other necessaries. Fear God, and love one another. Write
your wants particularly to me, and depend upon it always to find me
your parent and king."

When he had done speaking, he went to the head of the line, and
passing along, stopt and conversed with every individual officer, asked
his name, which he immediately noted down in his pocket-book. Re-
suming his former position, he took off his hat, and praying God to
bless and prosper them, he made a most gracious bow, and retired.
Overcome by his feelings, he returned a second time, made another
bow, and burst into tears. The officers, to testify their sense of this
mark of royal sympathy, knelt simultaneously down, and bowing their
heads, remained for some time motionless and in profound silence, with
their eyes fixed upon the ground. On rising, they passed before his
majesty with the accustomed honours. About a month after, another
division consisting of fifty officers, was reviewed by James, who noticed
them in a similar manner.

Perpignan in the south of France, to which these volunteers were
appointed to march, is about nine hundred miles from St Germains,
but great as the distance was, they bore the difficulties of the march
with extraordinary fortitude and patience. These difficulties were, how-
ever, greatly alleviated by the kind attentions which were paid to them
by the magistrates and leading men of the different towns and villages
through which they passed, all of whom interested themselves to provide
them with the best accommodation, by billetting them on the richest in-

200 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

habitants. The aft'ability of tlieir depoitment, their sufferings, their
disinterestedness, and the singularity of their situation, made them fa-
vourites wherever they came, and the history of the Scottish gentlemen
volunteers became the general theme of admiration. They were no-
ticed in a particular manner by the young ladies, crowds of whom
were to be seen every morning walking on the parade to take a parting
glance at the unfortunate strangers.

When they arrived at Perpignan, they went to the house of Lieu-
tenant-General Shaseron, before which they drew up in line. Hearing
of their arrival, the whole ladies in the town assembled " to see so
many worthy gentleman, for their loyalty and honour, reduced to the
unhappy state of private sentinels." * These ladies were affected to
tears on beholding this gallant band, and commiserating the destitute
situation of the unfortu;iate strangers, they presented the commanding
officer, according to common report, with a purse of two hundred pis-
toles for their behoof, but which, it is asserted, was kept up by the officer
to whom it was intrusted. Having spent all their money on their march,
and finding the daily pittance of three pence, and a pound and a half
of bread, the pay and allowance of a common soldier, quite inadequate
for their support, they were obliged to dispose of their scarlet clothes,
laced and embroidered vests, shirts, watches, and rings, which were ex-
posed occasionally for public sale in the streets of Perpignan and Canet,
from November sixteen hundred and ninetj'-two, to the first of May,
sixteen hundred and ninetj'-three, when they went to camp.

From Perpignan the corps marched to Canet, on the coast of the
Mediterranean, where they were incorporated with another body which
had arrived there some time before them. At Canet the officers laid
aside their usual dress, and put on the French uniform. They were
then instructed in the French exercise, and by the modesty of their de-
meanour, and the patience with which they underwent the fatigues of
drill, they excited the sympathy of the French officers, who treated
them with very great respect and attention. About the middle of
March, sixteen hundred and ninety-three, they were joined by a com-
pany under Major Rutherford, and by a corps of veterans, under Captain
John Foster, who had served in Dumbarton's regiment. The meeting
of these different bodies tended greatly to alleviate their common suf-
ferings, as they occasionally kept up a social intercourse, drinking
whenever they met to the health of the king, and devising plans for his
restoration.

Before these different companies were marched into camp, they were
ordered to return to Perpignan to be reviewed by Jlarshal de Noailles.
Their appearance, on the morning of their march from Canet, was ex-
tremely affecting, as they had now no longer any part of their former
dress remaining, and were so completely metamorphosed, that they

• Account of Dundee's ofTicers afar llie>' went to Friiiice, 1711.

DUNDEE S CFFICEnS IN FRANCE. 201

could not be distiiiguislicd from the common soldiers of the country.
Tlie marshal was so well pleased with tlie appearance of the volunteers
wlien passing in review, that he ordered them to march before liim a
second time, and presented them with a mule, which cost him fifty pis-
toles, to carry their tents. Tlie officers observing some of the inhabi-
tants of Perpignan, who attended tlie review, wearing the apparel which
they had purchased from them, amused themselves witli jocular remarks
on the appearance of the burgesses in tlieir " old clotlics."

After the review was over, the corps returned to Canet the same
evtiiing, where they remained some days, and on the first of May, six-
teen hundred and ninetj-three, they began their march for Spain to
join the army which invested the city of Roses. In their march
across the Pyrenean mountains they suffered very much from fatigue,
as tliey were obliged to carry their provisions, kettles, tent-poles, pins,
and other utensils. They arrived at the French camp at Roses on the
twentieth of May, and immediately entered upon the service of the
siege. As the besieging array was wholly unprovided with pioneers,
the officers volunteered to act as such, and in that capacity they em-
ployed themselves in the fatiguing and hazardous duty of hewing wood,
making fascines, and raising batteries against the town. In addition to
this labour, they also joined volunteer foraging parties, in which ser-
vice, particularly " hen there was any probability of engaging parties of
the enemy, they mounted double the required complement of men.
They also took a share occasionally in the lighter duties of piquets, as a
relaxation from the heavier toils of the camp. But arduous as these
were, the Scotch officers, from their cheerfulness and alacrity, would
have surmounted them all, if the unhealthiness of the climate had not
speedily impaired tiieir constitutions. In the valley of Lampardo, where
Roses is situated, the water is so scarce and so muddy, and the climate
so unhealthy for foreigners, that when Charles II. of Spain heard that
Marshal de Noailles had encamped his army there, he said publicly at
court that he wanted no army to fight them, as the climate would fight
for him. Besides the unhealthiness of the climate, the Scotch officers
had to combat another enemy to their constitutions in the shape of sar-
dinas, horse-beans and garlic, which, with muddy water, formed the only
food they could obtain. The consequence was, that in a short time
many of them were seized with fevers and fluxes ; but although every
entreaty was used by some Irish officers with whom the climate and di-
et agreed better, to induce them to return to Perpignan, and enter the
hospital, they insisted continuing in the camp, and performing the duty
they had voluntarily undertaken.

The first occasion on which the officers distinguished themselves, was
In a sally which the Spaniards made from the town. These officers,
along with some detachments of Irish, having mounted the trenches,
the Spaniards made several sallies out of the town into a field of barley ;
but they were repulsed by an equal number of the officers three several
II 2 o

202 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

times, who drove them back to tlie drawbridge which they had crossed
in presence of the Frencli army and the garrison. A French major
general, who observed the struggle, asked Colonel Scot, who command-
ed in the trenches, why one detachment only had attacked the enemy, and
not the others? Without returning a direct answer. Colonel Scot told
liim that the attacking party was composed of the Scotch officers, and
that the others were Irish. The major-general, intending to pay a com-
pliment to the Scots, observed with a smile that he had often heard tliat
Scotland and Ireland were two distinct kingdoms, but he never knew
the difference before. Such is the account given by the author of the
memoirs of Dundee's officers, which, if true, shows that the French-
man was ignorant of the character of Irishmen, who certainly are not
behind any other nation in bravery.

On the twenty-seventh of May, Marshal de Noailles having deter-
mined to make a grand attack upon the town, notified his wish that a
select body of volunteers should mount the trenches. On this occasion
ail the Scotch officers, along with two other Scotch and two Irish
companies, offered their services. Among the Scotch was a company
of grenadiers commanded b3' Major Rutherford, with which the greater
part of the officers was incorporated. It fell to the lot of the grena-
diers to advance first towards the station assigned the volunteers at the
trenches ; but instead of marching in a direction to avoid the fire of
the enemy, Major Rutherford, with rash but intrepid daring, led his
men directly in front of a bastion where he was exposed to the fire of
several pieces of cannon. Colonel Brown, at the bead of the rest of
the volunteers, finding himself bound in honour to follow the example
thus set bj' Rutherford, was about following him; but the French com-
mander seeing the great danger to which the latter had unnecessarily
exposed himself, sent one of his aid-des-camps with orders to him to
retrace his steps, and advance to his station another ^ay under cover
of the trenches. He, accordingly, took another direction and posted
himself at the station pointed out to him, which was behind a trench
near the town. Had he remained only six minutes longer, his
men would have been all cut to pieces by a tremendous fire which
the enemy was ready to open upon them. After Colonel Brown's
battalion had joined the position assigned it, which was on the left
flank of the grenadier company, a brisk fire was opened upon the
town, by which a breach was made in the walls. The besieged,
apprehensive of an immediate assault, beat a chamade, and offered
to surrender the town on reasonable terms ; but the marshal's
demands were so exorbitant, that the governor of the city refused to
accede to them, and resolved to hold out in expectation of more fa-
vourable terms being offered. The firing was, thereupon, resumed onr
both sides with great fury, and the city, in a short time, capitulated.
Eight of the grenadiers were killed, and Captain Ramsay, a brave offi-
cer, was shot thi'ough both legs, and died in two days. Major Ruth

DUNDEE S OFFICERS IN FRANCE. 203

erford also received a wound in his bacK, winch proved fatal in three
days. In an interview which the governor had with Marshal de Noaillea
after the city had surrendered, the former asked the French general
who iliese grenadiers were, adding, at same time, that it was owing to
the smart firing winch thoy kept up, that he had been compelled to
surrender, being afraid that such determined fellows, if longer opposed,
would enter the breach. " Ces sont raes enfans," — these are my children,
answered the marshal with a smile, " these are the Scotch officers of the
king of Great Britain, who, to show their willingness to share of his
miseries, have reduced themselves to the carrying of arms under my
command." On the following day the marshal took a view of his camp,
and when he came to the officers' quarter he halted, and requested them
to form a circle round him. After they had assembled he took off' his
Iiat, and proceeded to address them. He thanked them for their good
services in the trenches, and freely acknowledged that, to their conduct
and courage, he was indebted for the capture of the town, and he assured
them that he would acquaint his royal master how well they had acted.
This he accordingly did, in despatches which he sent to Versailles by
his son, and the king was so well pleased with the account which the
marshal had given of the behaviour of the Scotch volunteers, that he
inmiediately went to St Germains and showed the despatches to King
James, and thanked him personally for the services his subjects had
done in taking Roses.

To alleviate the privations of these brave men, Marshal de Noaillcs
had the generosity to make an allowance to each of them of a pistole,
two shirts, a night-cap, two cravats, and a pair of shoes ; but it is dis-
tressing to find that part of these gifts was not appropriated, owing to
the rapacity of the officers to whom the distribution of them was in-
trusted. Some indeed got a pistole without any of the articles of cloth-
ing, some a pair of shoes, and others a shirt ; but many of them got
nothing at all. Even an allowance of fivepence per diem from King
James's own purse, which was paid monthlj', suffered peculation, as it
passed through the hands of the paymaster, who always made some
deductions for shoes, stockings, shirts, broken swords, fusils, or other
tilings, all of which were fictitious, as they were covered by an allow-
ance called half-mounting, of which the volunteers do not seem at the
time to have been aware.

After the termination of the siege, the strength of the greater part of
the company was greatly exhausted by the sickness they had suffered.
Even after the fatigues of the siege were over, many of them were again
attacked by fevers, agues, and fluxes, to such an extent, that the mar-
shal requested them to leave the camp, and select a healthy place of
residence till they should recover ; but they declined his friendly offer,
and told him " that they came not to that country to lie within rotten
walls, when the king of France, (who was so kind to their master,) had
business in the field." *

• Memoirs of Dundee's oflicers.

204 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Marshal de Noailles marched from Roses for Piscador about tiie mid-
tile of June, sixteen hundred and ninety-three, with an army of twenty-
six thousand men ; but tlie heat was so great, and the supply of water
so scanty, that he was obliged to leave sixteen tliousand of his men be-
hind him on the road. Afraid tliat this division would be attacked in
its rear by the Spanish army, the generals ordered all the piquets to
be drawn out immediately to watch the motions of the enemy ; but as
the greater part of the army had not come up to tlie ground, the cor-
porals could not get the required compliment. In this dilemma, the
Scottish officers, who were in the camp, mounted for their comrades,
and marched to the parade of the piquets in such good order, and with
such readiness, as to attract the especial notice of the French generals,
who observed on the occasion, that " Le gentilhomme est tovjours gen-
tilhomnie, et se montre tovjours td dans le besohi, et dans le danger.'' —
' The gentleman is always a gentleman, and will always show himself
such in time of need and danger.'

Leaving Piscador about the middle of July, they repassed some of
the Pyrenees and encamped at Ville France at the foot of Mount
Canigo, where they remained till about the twentieth of August, when
they marched to Mount Escu, whence Major-GenenJ Wauchope, with
some Irish troops, went to Savoj-. At'ter making a second campaign on
the plains of Cerdanna, the companj' of officers were marched back to
Perpignan, where they arrived on the first of November. Many of
them entered the hospital of the town, where sixteen of them died
in a short time. After remaining twelve days at Perpignan, they
marched to Toureilles to pass the winter. Their friends, who had heard
of their sickness in Catalonia, had made application to King James, to
obtain an order for their removal to a more healthy situation, which
had been so well attended to by his Majesty, that on tlieir arrival at
Toureilles they received an order to march to Alsace, which, from tlie
coldness of its climate, was considered to be more congenial to the
constitutions of Scotchmen.

When Marshal de Noailles received this order he was much sur-
prised, and thinking that the officers had themselves applied for the
order in consequence of some ofl'cnce they had taken, he sent for
Colonel Brown the commanding officer, and after showing him the order,
requested him to say, on his honour, if the gentlemen had received any
aflront fi'om him or his officers, and he added, that if he or they had given
anyoffence of which they were not aware, they would give them every satis-
faction. He, moreover, declared, tliat from the respect he entertained
for them, and the high opinion he had formed of their bravery and
services, he had resolved, had they remained in his army, to have pro-
moted them to the rank they had respectively held in the army of King
.lames. He then expressed his regret at parting with tlicm and bade
them adieu.

On the fourth of December, sixteen hundred and ninety-three, the

Dundee's officers in france. 206

company of officers and the otiier two Scotch companies left Toureilles in
Rousillou for Silistad in Alsace. Alluding to this route their historian
observes, that the " gentlemen" were in many respects " very fit for
that march ; for the market of Perpignan eased them of that trouble
they used to liave in hiring mules for their baggage ; so that when they
letl the country (of Rousillon,) the most frugal of them could carry his
equipage in a handkerchief, and many had none at all ; and the fatigues
and hardships of the campaign had reduced their bodies so very low
that many of them looked rather like shadows and skeletons than men.
Their coals were old and thin, many of their breeches wanted lining,
and their stockings and shoes were torn and worn in pieces, so that by
the time they came to Lyons, where they kept their Christmas, their
miseries and wants were so many and great, that I am ashamed to ex-
press them. Yet, no man that conversed with them could ever accuse
them of a disloyal thought, or the least uneasiness under their misfor-
tunes. When they got over their bottles (which was but seldom,) their
conversation was of pity and compassion for their king and young
gentleman (the prince,) and how his majesty might be restored without
any prejudice to his subjects."

At Rouen in Dauphiny, they were left in a state of great destitution
by Colonel Brown, who went to St Germains, carrying along with him
two months gratification money, a term which they gave to King James's
allowance of fivepence per diem ; but notwithstanding the privations to
which they were exposed by this other instance of the cupidity of
that officer, they proceeded on their journey. Unfortunately, a famine
raged in the countries through which they had to pass, which prevented
the inhabitants from exercising the rites of hospitality, and as the winter
was unusually severe, the ground being covered with snow for a con-
siderable time and to a great depth, — the officers sufi'ered under the
combined effects of cold and hunger.

On arriving at Silistad they were received with great civility by the
governor, (a Scotchman,) the mayor of the town, and the officers of the
garrison, who frequently invited them to dine and sup with them ; but
as hospitality necessarily had its bounds, at a time when provisions of
all sorts w-^re extremely scarce, and of course uncommonly dear, the
officers soon found themselves compelled to part with articles which they
had formerly resolved to preserve. They accordingly opened a kind of
market at Silistad, at which were exposed silver buckles, seals, snuff-
boxes, periwigs, ruffles, cravats, stockings, and other articles. At Per-
pignan, when exposing for sale their scarlet coats, embroidered vests, and
other less necessary or less valued appendages, they used, in reference
to other articles on which they placed greater value, to say, for instance,
" this is the seal of our family ; I got it from my grandfather, therefore
1 will never part with it." Another would say, " I got this ring from
my mother or mistress. I will sooner starve than part with it." All
.hese fine protestations, however, were forgotten or disregarded amidst

206 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

the irresistible calls of hunger, and the cruel assaults of penury ; foi
as the author of their memoirs quaintly observes, " when the gentleman
poverty came amongst them he carried off every tiling fair and clean,
without any exception or distinction ; and all the donor's returns were
their healths toasted about in a bumper with a remnant of old Latin,
7iecessitas non habet leffem,"

Although the officers remained upwards of a year at Silistad, they
were not able from sickness and disease to make up a battalion ; but
notwithstanding their impaired constitutions, the governor of Silistad
was heard often publicly to declare, that if besieged he would depend
more upon the three Scotch companies, and particularly the company
of officers, for defending the place, than upon the two battalions which
composed the rest of the garri>on. The governor was led to make
this observation from an apprehension he entertained that Prince Lewis
of Baden, who had crossed the Rhine with an armj- of eighty thousand
men during the stay of the officers at Silistad, and who remained three
weeks in Alsace, would lay siege to that town. But the officers had not
an opportunity afforded thein of proving the correctness of the gover-
nor's opinion of their courage, as Prince Lewis, on receiving intelligence
that Marshal de Boufflers was advancing with a force of fifteen thousand
horse and dragoons, reciossed the Rhine in confusion, leaving his bag-
gage behind him, and with a loss of three thousand men who were
drowned in the river in consequence of the bridges across the Rhine
having been broken down by the prince in his retreat. At the time
Prince Lewis commenced his retreat, he had a foraging party of a hun-
dred hussars traversing and plundering the countiy, who, being apprized
on their way back to the camp, that their army had repassed tlie Rhine,
and that they were left alone on the French side, resolved, as they could
not get across the Rhine out of Alsace, to make the best of their way to
Basle, and information of this design being brought to Marshal de Lorge
the governor of Silistad, he despatched couriers to the commanders of
the different garrisons which lay in their course to intercept them in
their retreat. He at the same time sent out the company of Scotch of-
ficers, on whose courage he had the most unbounded reliance, to guard
a pass through which he supposed the hussars would attempt to pene-
trate, a piece of service which the officers accepted of with great cheer-
fulness in return for the good opinion which the governor entertained of
them. The hussars had in fact selected the pass for their route, but on
approaching it they were deterred from their intention on being informed
by a Jew, that the pass was guarded by a company of British officers
that lay in wait for them, and that if they attempted to go through it
every one of them would be either killed or taken prisoners. They,
therefore, retraced their steps, and seeing no possibility of escape, went
to Strasburg where they surrendered themselves ; they boasted, however,
that had not the company of Scotch officers prevented them they woulu

UUNDEE S OFFICERS IN FRANCE. 207

have marclied through in spite of all the garrisons in Alsace and crossed
the Rhine at Basle in Switzerland.

Although the officers suHerod even greater privations than they did in
Cat;iIonia, and had to bear the hardsliips of an Alsace winter, remarkabh;
that year for its severity, which, from the great deficiency in food and
clothing, was no easy task, the mortality was not so great as might
have been expected, only five having died during their stay at Silistad
A report of their sufTerings having been brought to King James by
some person who felt an interest in the officers, he sent orders to tlieir
colonel to discharge such of them as might desire to withdraw from
the service, and granted them permission to retire to St Germains.
0':ly fourteen however availed themselves of this kind offer. These, on
arriving at St Germains, were received ki the most gracious manner by
King James, who offered either to support them handsomely at SI
Germains, or to send them home to their own country at his own
expense. After thanking his majesty for his generous offer, they re-
quested that he would allow them a few days to consider cue matter ;
and, in the meantime, an occurrence took place which, though tri
vial in itself, was looked upon by the devoted cavaliers as a sin-
gular event in their history from which important consequences
might ensue. The " young gentleman," as the son of King James, a
child of six years of age, was called, was in the practice of going to
Marli in a carriage for his amusement, and one day when about entering
the carriage, on his return to St Germains, he recognised four of tiie of-
ficers whom he beckoned to advance. They accordingly, walked up
to the carriage, and falling on their knees, kissed the hand of tiie
prince, wlio told them that he was sorry for their misfortunes, and
that he hoped to live to see his father in a condition to reward their
sufferings ; that as for himself he was but a child, and did not under-
stand much about government and the affairs of the world, but he
knew this much, that they had acquitted themselves like men of ho-
nour, and good and loyal subjects ; and that they had, by their suffer-
ings in the cause of his father, laid him under an obligation which he
would never forget. Then, handing his purse to them, which con-
tained ten pistoles and three half-crowns, he requested them to divide
the contents among tliemselves, and to drink to the healths of his father
and mother. After taking leave of the prince, they adjourned to a
tavern in the town called, singularly enough, tlie Prince of Orange's
Head, " where'' (says tlie narrator of the anecdote) " they spoke no
treason, nor burned pretenders," but poured out copious libations to
the health of the king and queen, and the young prince who, on that
daj', had exhibited a precocity of talent which they were not quite pre-
pared to expect. Before breaking up a quarrel was likely to ensue
among the officers for the possession of the purse, each claiming a right
to keep it for the sake of the donor, but the discussion was speedily put
an end to, by some of the nobility of the court, who, hearing of the dis-

208 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

pute, and dreading the consequences, sent a person, in the king's name
to require delivery of the purse, a demand which was at once acceded to.
It is remarkable, that among all these officers who gave such extraordi-
nary proofs of attachment to a catholic king, there were very few ca-
tholics, and that they included in their ranks several young divines of
the protestant episcopal church in Scotland, who had joined Dundee
when they saw that the object of the revolution government was to
overthrow episcopacy in that kingdom.

At an entertainment given at Silistad by Colonel Brown, on the tenth
of June sixteen hundred and ninety-four, to celebrate the birth-day of
the young prince, some symptoms of dissatisfaction were displayed by
some of the officers at the bad treatment which they and their comrades
had received from some of the superior officers, and one of them hinted
that, if his majesty was aware of the circumstances, they would not
only lose their commissions, but would be excluded from the king's
presence. The result was, that the company immediately separated,
and all familiar intercourse between Colonel Brown and the officers
ceased. Apprehensive, therefore, that the officers might, if they went
to St Germains, make disclosures of the peculation and robbery of the
superior officers, an attempt was made to dissuade them from accept-
ing the king's offisr ; but some of them went to St Germains, as has
been stated, and, as anticipated, made known to the king the wrongs
they had suffisred. Colonel Brown was at court at the time, and in
consequence of the statements of the officers, and a violent altercation he
had with the earl of Dunfermline, who was a great favourite at St Ger-
mains, had made himself so disliked that no gentleman would converse
with him. Irritated at the disclosures made by the officers, he quarrel-
led with Captain Robert Arbuthnot, one of the fourteen officers who
had repaired to St Germains, which ended in a rencounter w ith drawn
swords at the castle-gate of St Germains ; but, after several pushes, in
which neither of them sustained any injury, the guards interfered and
separated them. On the matter being investigated. Brown being in
fault, was compelled to crave Arbuthnot's pardon.

To counteract the effect of the disclosures made by the officers at St
Germains, and to endeavour to restore himself to the good graces of
the court, Brown drew up a certificate to be signed by the officers at
Silistad, in which were stated many alleged good services ^\hich he had
done to them, and he directed Colonel Scot and Major Buchan, to
whom this paper was sent, to prevail upon the governor of Silistad,
who had great influence over the officers, to obtain their signatures to
it. A few were prevailed upon to subscribe, but many absolutely
refused. On the writing being returned. Brown, or some other person,
added the names of the officers who had declined to sign. The certifi-
cate was then presented to King James, but the imposition was speedily
detected, and Brown was disgraced, and banished from court. In cou-

DUNDEE S OFFICERS IN FRANCE. ZUa

sequence of this exposure, the allowance of the officers was increased to
ten-pence per diem.

In February sixteen hundred and ninoty-four, the three companies
marched from Silistad to Old Brisac, whence the company of officers was
sent to Fort Cadette on the Rhine, where they laj' a year and four
months. Their next station was at Strasburg, where, in December six-
teen hundred and ninety-seven, they especially signalized themselves. The
occasion was this. General Stirk, who commanded the imperial forces,
having appeared with an army of sixteen thousand men on the right bank
of the Riiine, apparently with a design to cross it; the Marquis de Sell
drew out all the garrisons in Alsace, including the company of officers,
amounting to about four thousand men, and encamped them on the op-
posite bank over against Stirk, for the purpose of obstructing his passage,
and to prevent him from carrying a bridge over into an island in the middle
of the river, from which Stirk would be enabled to annoy the French army
with his artillery. From the depth of the water, however, and the want
of boats, which prevented the French commander from taking possession
of the island, he had the mortification to see the imperial general openly
throw a bridge of boats across to the island into which he placed a force
of five hundred men, who immediately raised a batter\', behind which
they entrenched themselves. Seeing the chagrin and disappointment
which such an occurrence had occasioned to the marquis, the Scotch
officers, through the medium of Captain John Foster, who then com-
manded them, volunteered to cross over to the island by wading through
the water, and to drive the Germans out of it. The marquis, who ap-
pears at first not to have understood the plan of wading through the
water, told Foster that, as soon as his boats came up, the Scotch
volunteers should have the honour of leading the attack ; but Foster
having explained that they meant to enter the water, the marquis, in a
tit of amazement, shrugged up his shoulders, prayed God to bless them,
and desired them to act as they thought fit. Captain Foster, thereupon,
returned to his company, and having informed the officers that he had
obtained permission from the marquis to make the proposed attack,
they, along with the other two companies, immediately made prepara-
tions for entering upon the difficult and dangerous entcrprize they had
chosen for themselves. Having tied their arms, shoes, and stockings,
around their necks, they, favoured by the darkness of the night,
advanced quietly to the bank of the river, and taking each other by the
hand for better security, according to a Highland custom, they entered
the water with a firm and steady pace. After they had passed the
deepest part of the river, where the water was as high as their breasts,
they halted, and having untied their cartouch-boxes and firelocks, they
proceeded quietly on their course, and gained the opposite bank unper-
ceived by the enemy. They then advanced with their firelocks levelled,
and when sufficiently near the enemy's entrenchments, the5' poured in a
volley among the surprised Germans, who immediately fled in confusion

alO HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND.*!.

towards the bridge which they had erected. The volunteers pursued them
closely, and killed several of them, and others were drowned in the river
in consequence of the bridge having been broken down by the ftigitives.
When information was brought to the Marquis de Sell that the Germans
were driven out of the island, and that it was in full possession of the
Scottish companies, he expressed his gratitude and admiration by mak-
ing the sign of the cross on his forehead and breast ; and declared that
these officers had performed the bravest action he had ever witnessed.
Next morning he visited the island, and after embracing every officer, he
gave them his most hearty thanks for the important service they had
performed, and promised that he would send an account of their brave
conduct to the French king, who, on receiving the despatches, went to
St Germains and thanked King James in person for the eminent service
his subjects had performed. The officers remained six weeks on the
island, during which General Stirk made several attempts to retake it,
but his endeavours were defeated by the vigilance of the officers, and
seeing no hopes of being able to cross the Rhine, he abandoned his
position, and retired into the interior. In honour of the captors the
island was afterwards named L'Isle d'Ecosse.

Alsace being thus relieved from the presence of an enemy, the com-
pany of officers returned to Strasburg to perform garrison duty. The
last piece of active service they performed was in attacking and driving
from a wood a body of hussars who had crossed the Rhine above Fort
Louis. In this affair several of the hussars were killed, and they were
forced to recross the Rhine with the loss of some of their horses and bag-
gage. The negotiations at Ryswick, which ended in a general peace,
now commenced ; and King William having, it is said, made the disband-
ing of the Scottish officers a sine i/ua twit, the company was broken up
at Silistad, alter the conclusion of the treaty. Thus ended the history
of these extraordinary men, few of wliom survived their royal master.

CHAPTER X.

MiiiSJCle ot Ole

The negotiation set on foot by the earl of Breadalbane witli the High-
land Jacobite chiefs was broiieii off by the latter, principally at the in-
stigation of Mackian or Alexander Macdonald of Glenco, between whom
and the earl a difference had arisen respecting certain claims which
the earl had against Glenco's tenants for plundering his lands, and for
which the earl insisted for compensation and retention out of Glenco's
share of the monej', which he had been intrusted by the government to
distribute among the chiefs. The failure of the negotiation was ex-
tremely irritating to the earl, who threatened Glenco with his ven-
geance, and, following up his threat, entered into a correspondence
with Secretary Dalryniple, tlie Master of Stair, between whom it is
understood a plan was concerted for cutting off the chief and his
people. Whether the "mauling scheme," of the earl, to which Dal-
rymple alludes in one of his letters, refers to a plan for the extirpation
of the tribe, is a question which must ever remain doubtful ; but there
is reason to believe, that if he did not suggest, he was at least privy
to the foul murder of that unfortunate chief and his people, an action
which has stamped an infamy upon the government of King William,
which nothing can efface.

In common with the other chiefs who had supported the cause of
King James, Glenco resolved to avail himself of the indemnity offered
by the government, and accordingly proceeded to Fort-William to take
the required oaths, where he arrived on the thirty-first day of Decem-
ber, sixteen hundred and ninety-one, being the last day allowed by the
proclamation for taking the oaths. He immediately presented himself
to Colonel Hill, the Governor of Fort- William, and required him to
administer the oath of allegiance to the government ; but the Colonel
declined to act, on the ground, tliat under the proclamation, the civil
magistrate alone could administer them. Glenco remonstrated with Hill
on account of the exigency of the case, as there was not any magistrate
whom he could reach before the expiration of that day, but Hill persisted
in his resolution. He, however, advised Glenco to proceed instantly to
Inverary, and gave him a letter to Sir Colin Campbell of Ardkinlass,
sheriff of Argyleshire, begging of him to receive Glenco as " a lost
sheep," and to administer the necessary oaths to him. Hill, at the same

212 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

time, gave Glenco a personal proteotion under his hand, and gave him
an assurance that no proceeding should be instituted against him under
the proclamation, till he should have an opportunity of laying his case
before the King or the privy council.

Glenco left Fort- William immediately, and so great was his anxiety
to reach Inverary with as little delay as possible, that although his way
lay through mountains almost impassable, and although the country was
covered with a deep snow, he proceeded on his journey without even
stopping to see his family, though he passed within half a mile of his
own house. At Barkaldin he was detained twenty-four hours by Captain
Drummond. On arriving at Inverary, Sir Colin Campbell was absent, and
he had to wait three days till his return, Sir Colin having been prevented
from reaching Inverary sooner, on account of the badness of the weather.
As the time allowed by the proclamation for taking the oaths had ex-
pired. Sir Colin declined at first to swear Glenco, alleging that it would
be of no use to take the oaths ; but Glenco having first importuned him
with tears to receive from him the oath of allegiance, and having thereafter
threatened to protest against the sheriff should he refuse to act. Sir Colin
yielded, and administered the oaths to Glenco and his attendants on the
sixth of January. Glenco, thereupon, returned home in perfect reliance
that having done his utmost to comply with the injunction of the govern-
ment, he was free from danger.

Three days after the oaths were taken, Sir Colin wrote Hill, acquaint-
ing him of wliat he had done, and that Glenco had undertaken to get
all his friends and followers to follow his example ; and about the same
time he sent the letter which he had received from Hill, and a certifi-
cate that Glenco had taken the oath of allegiance to Colin Campbell,
sheriff clerk of Argyle, then at Edinburgh, with instructions to lay
the same before the privy council, and to inform him whether or not the
council received the oath. The paper on which the certificate that
Glenco had taken the oaths was written, contained other certificates of
oaths which had been administered within the time fixed, but Sir Gilbert
Elliot, the clerk of the privy council, refused to receive the certificate re-
lating to Glenco as irregular. Campbell, thereupon, waited upon Lord
Aberuchil, a privy councillor, and requested him to take the opinion
of some members of the council, who accordingly spoke to Lord
Stair and other privy councillors; all of whom gave an opinion that the
certificate could not be received without a warrant from the King. In-
stead, however, of laying the matter before the pri\y council, or inform-
ing Glenco of the rejection of the certificate, that he might petition the
King, Campbell perfidiously defaced the certificate, and gave in the
paper on which it was written to the clerks of the council.

Whether in thus acting, Campbell was influenced by Secretary
Dalrymple, who has obtained an infamous notoriety by the active
part which he took in bringing on the massacre of Glenco, it is
nnpossible to say; but it' is not improbable that this man — who, a

MASSACRE OF GLENCO. 213

few weeks before, had exulted * that as the winter was tlie only
Bcason in wliicli the Higlilaiulors could not escape, tlicy could easily bo
destroyed " in the cold long nights" — was not an indittercnt s])cctatorto
Campbell's proceedings. In fact, it appears that the secretary contem-
plated the total extirpation of the clans, for, in a letter to Sir Thomas
Livingston, dated the seventh of January, he says, " You know in
general that these troops posted at Inverness and Inverlochie, will be
ordered to take in the house of Innergarie, and to destroy entirely the
country of Lochaber, Lochiel's lands, Keppocli's, Glengarie's, and
Glenco," and he adds, " I assure j ou your power shall be full enough,
and I hope the soldiers will not trouble the government with prisoners."
In another letter to Sir Thomas, written two days thereafter, by which
time accounts had reached him that Glenco had taken the oaths, he ex-
presses satisfaction that " the rebels" would not be able to oppose his
designs, and as their chieftains were " all papists," he thinks it would
be well that vengeance fell upon them. The Macdonalds were chiefly
marked out by him for destruction, and after saying that he could have
wished that they " had not divided" on the question of taking the oath
of indemnity, he expresses his regret to find that Keppoch and Glenco
were safe.

That no time, however, might be lost in enforcing the penalties in the
proclamation, now that the time allowed for taking the oath of allegiance
had expired, instructions of rather an equivocal nature, signed and
countersigned by the King on the eleventh of January, were sent down
by young Stair to Sir Thomas Livingston on the same day, inclosed in
a letter from the secretary of same date. By the instructions, Living-
ston was ordered " to march the troops against the rebels who had not
taken the benefit of the indemnity, and to destroy them by fire and
sword ;" but lest such a course might render them desperate, he was
alloivcd to " give terms and quarters, but in this manner only, that
chieftains and heritors, or leaders, be prisoners of war, their lives only
safe, and all other things in mercy, they taking the oath of allegiance ;
and the community taking the oath of allegiance, and rendering
their arms, and submitting to the government, are to have quar-
ters, and indemnity for their lives and fortunes, and to be protected
from the soldiers." As a hint to Livingston how to act under the dis-
cretionary power with which these instructions vested him, Dalrj'mple
says in his letter containing them, " I have no great kindness to Kep-
poch nor Glenco, and it is well that people are in mercy, and then just
now my Lord Argyle tells rae that Glenco hath not taken the oath, at
which I rejoice. It is a great work of charity to be exact in rooting out
that damnable sect, the worst of the Highlands."

The purport of this letter could not be misunderstood ; but lest Living-
ston might not feel disposed to imbrue his hands in the blood of

* Lcllers lo Lieutenant-Colonel Hamilton, Sic. 1st and 3d, Dec. 1G91.

214 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Glenco and his people, additional instructions bearing the date of six-
teenth January, and also signed and countersigned by King William,
were despatched to Livingston by the master of Stair, ordering him to
extirpate the whole clan. In the letter containing these instructions,
Dalrymple informs Livingston that " the king does not at all incline to
receive any after the diet but in mercy," but he artfully adds, " but for
a just example of vengeance, I entreat the thieving tribe of Glenco may
be rooted out to purpose." Lest, however, Livingston might hesitate, a
duplicate of these additional instructions * was sent at the same time
by Secretary Dalrymple to Colonel Hill, the governor of Fort-
William, with a letter of an import similar to that sent to Living-
ston. From the following extract it would appear that not only the
earl of Breadalbane, but also the earl of Argyle, was privy to this in-
famous transaction. " The earls of Argyle and Breadalbane have pro-
mised that they (the Macdonalds of Glenco) shall have no retreat in
their bounds, the passes to Rannoch would be secured, and the hazard
certified to the laird of Weenis to reset them ; in that case Argyle's
detachment with a party that may be posted in Island Stalker must cut
them oif."

Preparatory to putting the butchering warrant in execution, a party
*of Argyle's regiment, to the number of one hundred and twenty men,
under the command of Captain Campbell of Glenlj'on, was ordered to
proceed to Glenco, and take up their quarters there, about the end
of January or beginning of February. On approaching the Glen,
they were met by John Macdonald the elder son of the chief, at the
head of about twenty men, who demanded from Campbell the reason
of his coming into a peaceful country with a military force : Glenlyon
and two subalterns who were with him explained that they came as

■ These instructions are as follow:

William R. 16tli January, 1692.

1. The copy of the paper given by Macdonald of Aughtera to you has been shown us.
"NVe did formerly grant passes to Buchan and Cannon, and we do authorize and allow
you to grant passes to them, and ten servants to each of them, to come freely and safely
to Leith ; from that to be transported to the Netherlands before the 15th of March next,
to go from thence where they please, without any stop or trouble.

2. We doe allow you to receive the submissions of Glenguiry and those with him upon
their taking the oath of allegiance and delivering up the house of Invergarry; to be safe
as to their ives, but as to their estates to depend upon our mercy.

3. In c^se you find that the house of Invergarry cannot probably be taken in this sea«
son of the year, with the artillery and provision you can bring there; in that case we
leave it to your discretion to give Glengarry tlie assurance of entire indemnity for life
and fortune, upon delivering of tire house and ai'ms, and taking the oath of allegiance.
In this you are to act as you find the circumstances of the atfair do require ; but it were
much better that those who have not taken the benefit of our indemnity, in the terms
within the diet prefixt by our proclamation, should be obliged to render upon mercy.
The takii'g the oath of allegiance is indispensable, others having already taken it.

4. If M'Ean of Glenco and that tribe can be well separated fiom the rest, it will 1)6
a proper vindication of the public justice to extirpate that set of thieves. The double of
these 'nstnictions is only communicated to Sir Thomas Livingston.

W. Re«.

MASSACRE OF GLENCO. 215

friends, and that their sole object was to obtain suitable quarters,
where they could conveniently collect the arrears of cess and hearth-
money, — a new tax laid on by the Scottish parliament in sixteen hundred
and ninety, — in proof of which. Lieutenant Lindsay produced the in-
structions of Colonel Hill to that effect. The officers having given their
parole of honour that they came without any hostile intentions, and that
no harm would be done to the persons or properties of the chief and his
tenants, they received a kindly welcome, and were hospitably entertained
by Glenco and his family till the fatal morning of the massacre. Indeed,
so familiar was Glenlyon, that scarcely a day passed that he did not
visit the house of Alexander Macdonald the younger son of the chief,
who was married to his niece, and take his " morning drink," agreeably
to the most approved practice of highland hospitality.

If Secretary Dalrymple imagined that Livingston was disinclined to
follow his instructions he was mistaken, for immediately on receipt of
them, he wrote Lieutenant-colonel Hamilton, who had been fixed upon
by the secretary to be the executioner, expressing his satisfaction
that Glenco had not taken the oath within the period prescribed, and
urging him now that a " fair occasion" offered for showing that his
garrison served for some use, and as the order to him from the court
was positive, not to spare any that had not come tinieously in, and de-
siring that he would begin with Glenco, and spare nothing of what
belongs to them, " but not to trouble the government with prisoners," or
in other words, to massacre every man, woman, and child. Hamilton,
however, did not take any immediate steps for executing this inhuman
order. In the meantime, the master of Stair was not inactive in incit-
ing his blood-hounds to the carnage, and accordingly on the thirtieth
of January, he wrote two letters, one to Livingston, and the other to
Hill, urging them on. Addressing the former, he says, " I am glad
Glenco did not come in within the time prefixed ; I hope what is done
there may be in earnest, since the rest are not in a condition to draw
together help. I think to harry (plunder) their cattle, and burn their
houses is but to render them desperate lawless men to rob their neigh-
bours, but I believe you will be satisfied, it were a great advantage to
the nation that thieving tribe were rooted out and cut off; it must be
quietly done, otherwise they will make shift for both their men and
their cattle. Argyle's detachment lies in Lelrickweel, to assist the
garrison to do all of a sudden." And in his letter to Hill, he says,
" Pray, when the thing concerning Glenco is resolved, let it be secret
and sudden, otherwise the men will shift you, and better not meddle
with them than not to do it to purpose, to cut off that nest of robbers
who have fallen in the mercy of the law, now when there is force and
opportunity, whereby the king's justice will be as conspicuous and use-
fiil as his clemency to others. I apprehend the storm is so great that for
some time you can do little, but so soon as possible I know you will be

216

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

at work, for these false people will do nothing, but as they see you in a
comlition to do witli tliem."

In pursuance of these fresh instructions from the secretary. Hill, on the
twelfth of February, sent orders to Hamilton, forthwith to execute the
fatal commission, who, accordingly, on the same day, directed Major
Robert Duncanson of Argyle's regiment to proceed immediately with a
detachment of that regiment to Glenco, so as to reach the post which had
been assigned him by five o'clock the following morning, at which
hour Hamilton promised to reach another post with a party of Hill's
regiment. Whether Duncanson was averse to take an active personal
part in the bloody tragedy about to be enacted, is a question the solution
of which would neither aggravate nor extenuate his guilt as a party to one
of tlie foulest murders ever perpetrated in any age or country ; but the
probability is that he felt some repugnance to act in person, as immediately
on receipt of Hamilton's order, he despatched another order from him-
self to Captain Campbell of Glenlyon, then living in Glenco, with
instructions to fall upon the Macdonalds precisely at five o'clock the
following morning, and put all to the sword under seventy years of age *

'St,

• Colonel Hill's Order to Lieut.-Col. James Hamiltos,

" Fort ■William, 12th Feb., 1692.

ou are, with four hundred of my regiment, and the four hundred of
my Lord Argj-Ie's regiment under the command of Major Duncanson, to march
straight to Glenco, and there put in due execution the orders you have received from
the commander-in-chief. Given under my hand at Fort William, the 12th February

* J. Hill."

To Lieut.-Col. Jai

Order from Lieut.-Col. Hamilton to IVIajor Robert Doncanson.

" Ballechylls, 12th Feb. 1C02.
" Sir.

" Persuant to the commander-in-chief and my colonel's order to me for
putting in execution the King's commands against those rebels of GleTico, wherein juu
with the party of the earl of Argyle's regiment under your command, are to be concern-
ed ; you are therefore forthwith to order }-our alfalr so, as that the several posts already
nssigned yuu be by you and your several detachments fain in activeness precisely by five
of the clock to-morrow morning, being Saturday ; at wliicli time I will endeavour the
same with those appointed from this regiment from the other pl.ices. It will be most
necessary you secure well those avenues on the south side, that the old fox, nor none of lii'
cubbs get away. The orders are, that none be spared of the sword, nor the governmeni
troubled with prisoners*, which is all until I see you from,

" Sir,
" Your most humble Servant,

"James Hamiltounf."

* Please to order a guard to secure the ferry, and boats there ; and the boats
on this side the ferry after your men are over.
' For their Majesty's service.

rust b4>

To Miijnr Hubert Dune

I of the Earl of .'InyffS Regt.'

MASSACRE OF GLBNCO. 217

Campbell was a man fitted for every kind of villany, a monster iu
human shape, who, for the sake of lucre, or to gratify his revenge,
would have destroyed his nearest and dearest friend ; and who, with
ooDsuiumate treacliery,

Could smile, and murder while he smiled.

With this sanguinary order in his pocket, he accordingly did not he-
sitate to spend the eve of the massacre at cards with John and Alex-
ander Macdonald, the sons of the chief, to wish them good night at
parting, and to accept an invitation from Glenco himself to dine with
him the following day, although he had resolved to imbrue his hands
in the blood of his kind hearted and unsuspecting host, his sons, and
utterlj' to exterminate the whole clan within a few hours. Little sus-
pecting the intended butchery, Glenco and his sons retired to rest at
their usual hour ; but early in the morning, while the preparations for
the intended massacre were going on, John Macdonald, tlie elder son
of the chief, hearing the sound of voices about his house, grew alarmed,
and jumping out of bed threw on his clothes and went to Inveriggen,
where Glenlyon was quartered, to ascertain the cause of the unusual
bustle which had interrupted his nocturnal slumbers. To his great sur-
prise he found the soldiers all in motion, as if preparing for some enter-
prise, a circumstance which induced him to inquire at Captain Camp-
bell the object of such extraordinary preparations at such an early
hour. The anxiety with which young Macdonald pressed his question,
indicating a secret distrust on his part, Campbell endeavoured by pro-
fessions of friendship to lull his suspicions, and pretended that his sole
design was to march against some of Glengarry's men. As John
Macdonald, the younger son of Glenco, was married to Glenlyon's
niece, that crafty knave referred to his connexion with the family of
Glenco, and put it to the young man, w hether if he intended any thing

Order from JIajor Duncanson lo Captain Robert Campbell of Glenlyon.

12lh Feb. 1692.
" Sir,

'' You are hereby ordered to tall upon the rebells the Macdonalds of
Glenco, and put all to the sword under seventy. You are to have a special care tliat
the old fox and his sons do not escape your hands; you are to secure all the avenues
that no man escape. This you are lo put in execution at five of the clock pieciscly;
and by that time, orvery shortly after it, I will strive to be at you with a stronger party.
If I do not come to you at five, you are not to tarry for me but to fail on. This is
by the King*a speciall commands, for the good and safely of the countrey, that these
miscreants be cut c.T, root and branch. Sec that this be put in execution without fear
or favour, or you may expect to be dealt with as one not true to k'wg or government,
nor as man fit to carry commission in the king's service. Expecting you will not
fail in the lulfilling hereof, as you love yourself, I subscribe this with my hand at Bal-
lychylls, the 12lh February, 1C92.

' Robert Dunca.^'SON."
II. Si E

218 HISTORY OP THE HIGHLANDS.

hostile to the clan, he would not have provided for the safety of his
niece and her husband. Macdonakl, apparently satisfied with tliis ex-
planation, returned home and retired again to rest, but he had not been
long in bed when his servant, who, apprehensive of the real intentions
of Glenlyon and his party, had prevented Macdonald from sleeping, in-
formed him of the approach of a party of men towards the house.
Jumping immediately out of bed be ran to the door, and perceiving
a body of about twenty soldiers with muskets and fixed bayonets com-
ing in the direction of his house, he fled to a hill in the neighbour-
hood, where he was joined by his brother Alexander, who had escaped
from the scene of carnage, after being wakened from sleep by his ser-
vant. *

The massacre commenced about five o'clock in the morning at three
different places at once. Glenlyon, with a barbarity which fortunately
for society has few parallels, undertook to butcher his own hospitable
landlord and the other inhabitants of Inverriggen, where he and a party
of his men were quartered, and despatched Lieutenant Lindsay with
another party of soldiers to Glenco's house to cut oft' the unsuspecting
chief. Under the pretence of a friendly visit, he and his party obtained
admission into the house. Glenco was in bed, and while in the act
of rising to receive his cruel visitors, be was basely shot at by two of
the soldiers, and fell lifeless into the arms of his wife. One ball

• This part of the account, which is taken from the Report of the Commission appointed
by King William to inquire into (he massacre, and is said to be grounded on llie evidence of
Glenco's sons, differs from that given in a letter from Edinburgh of dale April 20lh, 1G92,
written by *'a gentleman in Scotland to his friend in London." According to ihisnTiter,
Alexander Macdonald had been very distrustful of Gleiilyon, and liad watched him more
carefully than even his father or biother, who allowed themselves, by his reiterated pro-
mises of friendship, to be lulled into a false security. Believing that Glenlyon had some
bad dej-ign upon the clan, Alexander, the night previous to the massacre, placed liimself
in a retired place wliere, unobserved, he could waich the motions of Gleidyon's men.
About midnight he perceived several soldiers enter the guard-house, an event which
alarmed his suspicions so much, that he immediately went and commuincaied his ap-
prehensions to his brother. But John Macdonakl, the elder brother, at first derided
these fears, and endeavoured to calm the mind of Alexander by asseiting, that tlie party
which he had seen enter the guard-liouse must iiave been intended either for strengthen-
ing the guard, from an appreliension of danger, or for relieving the sentinels oflener
on account of the severity of the weather. But Alexander persisting in his suspicions,
John arose from his bed and accompanied his brother to tlieir father's bed-room.
Although the old gentleman was not disposed to believe that any thing hostile was in-
tended, he allowed liis sons to watch the motions of the party. The}', accordingly, went
out, and from their knowledge of the localities approached, unperceived, a sentinel's post,
where, instead of one, they observed no less than eight or teu men. This discovery made
them still more inquisitive, and they crept so near, that they could hear one soldier say to
his companions, '* I do not like this work, and had I know n of it 1 would not have come
here, if only I had known of it a quarter of an hour before." He added, thai he was will-
ing to fight against the men of the glen, but he considered it base to murder them. The
otheis replied, that the blame would rest on those who iiad given the orders, as titey were
bound to obey their officers. On heaiing these words, the young men returned as
quietly and quickly to the house as they could to inform their father of what they liad
hear<) ; but on coming near the house, they tV und it suriounded by soldiers, Iieard fire,
arms discharged and people shrieking. They had, tlierefore, no alternative but flight.

MASSACRE OF GLENCO. 219

entored the back of his head, and another penetrated Iiis body. The
lady in the extremity of lier anguish leapt out of bed and put on hel
clothes, but the rutfiatis stripped her naked, pulled the rings off her
fingers with their teeth, and treated her so cruelly that she died the
following day. The party also killed two men whom they found in
the house, and wounded a third named Duncan Don, who came oc-
casionally to Glenco with letters from Braeniar.

While the butchery was going on in Glenco's house, Glenlyon was
busily pursuing the same murderous course at Invcrriggen, where his
own host was shot by his order. Here the party seized nine men whom
they first bound hand and foot, after which they shot them one by one.
Glenlyon was desirous of saving the life of a young man about twenty
years of age, but one Captain Drunimond shot him dead. The same
orticer, impelled by a thirst for blood, ran his dagger through the body of
a boy who had grasped Campbell by the legs, and who was supplicating
for mercy. Glenlyon's party carried their cruelty even so far as to
kill a woman, and a boy only four or five years old.

A third party under the command of one Sergeant Barker, which was
quartered in the village of Auchnaion, fired upon a body of nine men
whom they observed in a house in the village sitting before a fire.
Among these was the laird of Auchintrincken, who was killed on the
spot, along with four more of tlie party. This gentleman had at the time
a protection in his pocket from Colonel Hill, which he had received
three months before. The remainder of the party in tlie house, two or
three of whom were wounded, escaped by the back of the house, with the
exception of a brother of Auchintrincken, who having been seized by
Barker, requested him as a favour not to despatch him in the house but
to kill him without. The sergeant consented, because, as he said, he had
experienced his kindness ; but when brought out he threw his plaid,
which he had kept loose, over the faces of the soldiers who were ap-
pointed to shoot him, and also escaped.

Besides the slaughter at these three places, there were some persons
dragged from their beds and murdered in other parts of the Glen,
among whom was an old man of eighty j'cars of age. Between thirty
and forty of the inhabitants of the Glen were slaughtered, and the
whole male population under seventy years of age, amounting to two
hundred, would have been cut ofl^, if, fortunately for them, a party of
four hundred men under Lieutenant-colonel Hamilton, who was princi-
pally charged with the execution of the sanguinary warrant, had not
been prevented by the severity of the weather from reaching the Glen
till eleven o'clock, six hours after the slaughter, by which time the
whole surviving male inhabitants, warned of their danger and of the
fate of their chief and the other sufferers, had fled to the hills. Ig-
norant of this latter circumstance, Hamilton, on arriving at Canneloch-
levcn, appointed several parties to proceed to different parts of the
Gleii, with orders to take no prisoners, but to kill all the men that car.ie

220 HISTOBV OF THE HIGHLANDS.

in their way. They had not, however, proceeded far when they foil in
with Major Duncanson's party, by whom they were informed of the events
of the morning, and wlio told tliem that as the survivors had escaped to
the hills, they had nothing to do but to burn the houses, and carry oil' the
cattle. They accordingly set fire to the houses, and having collected
the cattle and effects in tlie Glen, they carried them to Inverlochy, where
they were divided among the officers of the garrison. That Hamilton
would have executed his commission to the very letter, is evident from
the fact, that an old man, the only remaining male inhabitant of the de-
solate vale they fell in with, was put to death by his orders.

After the destruction of the houses, a scene of the most heart-rend-
ing description ensued. Ejected from their dwellings by the devouring
element, aged matrons, married women and widowed mothers, with in-
fants at their breasts and followed by children on foot, clinging to them
with all the solicitude and anxiety of helplessness, were to be seen all
wending their way, almost in a state of nudity, towards the mountains in
a piercing snow-storm, in quest of some friendly hovel, beneath whose
roof they might seek shelter from the pitiless tempest and deplore their
unhappy fate. But as there were no houses within the distance of
several miles, and as these could only be reached by crossing moun-
tains deeply covered with snow, the greater part of these unhappy
beings overcome by fatigue, cold, and hunger, dropt down and perished
miserably among the snow.

While this brutal massacre struck terror into the hearts of the Jaco-
bite chiefs, and thus so far served the immediate object of the govern-
ment, it was highly prejudicial to King William, who was considered its
chief author. In every quarter, even at court, the account of the mas-
sacre was received with horror and indignation, and the Jacobite party
did not fail to turn the affair to good account against the government,
by exaggerating, both at home and abroad, the barbarous details. The
odium of the nation rose to such a pitch, that had the exiled monarch
appeared at the head of a few thousand men, he would, probably, have
succeeded in regaining his crown. The ministry, and even King Wil-
liam, grew alarmed, and to pacify the people he dismissed the Master of
Stair from his councils, and appointed a commission of inquiry to inves-
tigate the affair, and pretended that he had signed the order for the
massacre among a mass of other papers, without knowing its contents.
This is the only defence ever offered for King William, but it is quite
unsatisfactory. For 1st, It is inconceivable that Secretary Dalryniple
or any other minister, would have ventured to prepare such an extraor-
dinary order without the express authority of his majesty, or would have
obtained his signature to it without first acquainting him of its purport.
2d, The fact that neither Dalryniple nor any other minister was im-
peached for such an act, makes it extremely probable that William was
privy to its contents. 3d, The unusual mode of signing and counter-
signing the order, would have made William desirous to know the im-

MASSACRE OF OLENCO. 221

port of such a document, had he not been previously aware of its nature.
4th, His refusal or ncglrct to order the principal parties concerned in
the massacre to be brouglit to trial, after the estates of parliament had
addressed him for that purpose, and the fact of liis promoting tlinse
guilty individuals in his service, show that he could not do so without
implicating himself.

Though the nation had long desired an inquiry into this barbarous
affair, it was not until the twenty-ninth day of April, sixteen hundred and
ninety-five, upwards of three years after the massacre, that a commission
was granted. A commission had indeed been issued in sixteen hundred
and ninety-three appointing the duke of Hamilton and others to examine
\nto the affair ; but this was a piece of mere mockery, and was never acted
upon ; but it now became necessary to satisfy the call of the nation by in-
stituting an investigation. The marquis of Tweeddale, lord high chancel-
lor of Scotland, and the other commissioners now appointed, accordingly
entered upon the inquiry, and, after examining witnesses and documents,
drew up a report, which was subscribed at Holyrood-house, on the
twentieth of June, and transmitted to his majesty. The commissioners
appear to have executed their task with great fairness, but, anxious to
palliate the conduct of the king, they gave a forced construction to the
terms of the order, and threw the whole blame of the massacre upon
Secretary Dalrymple. As the substance of this report has partly been
embodied in the preceding narrative, it will be here only necessary to
give the conclusions to which the commissioners arrived : — Upon the
whole matter, they gave as their opinion, first, that it was a great
wrong that Glenco's case and diligence, as to his taking the oath of
allegiance, with Ardkinlas's certificate of his taking the oath of alle-
giance on the sixth of January, sixteen hundred and ninety-two, and
Colonel Hill's letter to Ardkinlas, and Ardkinlas's letter to Colonel
Campbell, sheriff-clerk, for clearing Glenco's diligence and innocence,
were not presented to the lords of his majesty's privy-council when they
were sent to Edinburgh in the month of January, and that those
who advised the not presenting thereof were in the wrong, and seem to
have had a malicious design against Glenco ; and that it was a farther
wrong, that the certificate, as to Glenco's taking the oath of allegiance,
was deleted and obliterated after it came to Edinburgh ; and that being so
obliterated, it should neither have been presented to, nor taken in by the
clerk of the council : secondly, that it appeared to have been known in
London, and particularly to the master of Stair, in the month of January,
sixteen hundred and ninety-two, that Glenco had taken the oath of al-
legiance, though after the appointed day ; for he said in his letter, to Sir
Thomas Livingstone, of the thirtieth of January, as above remarked :
" I am glad that Glenco came not within the time prescribed :" thirdly,
that there was nothing in the king's instructions to warrant the commit-
ting of the slaughter itself, and far less as to the manner of it, seeing all
hb instructions did plainly import, that the most obstinate of the rebels

222 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

might be received into mercy upon taking the oatli of allegiance, though
the day was long before elapsed ; and that he ordered nothing con-
cerning Glenco and his tribe, " but that, if they could be well sepa-
rated from the rest, it would be a proper vindication of the public justice
to extirpate that set of thieves," an expulsion (say the commissioners)
which plainly intimated, that it was his majesty's mind, that they could
not be separated from the rest of these rebels, unless they still refused his
mercy, by continuing in arms and refusing the oath of allegiance ; and
that even in that case, they were only to be proceeded against in the way
of public justice, and in no other way : fourthhj, tliat Secretary Stair's let-
ters, especially that of the eleventh January, sixteen hundred and ninety-
two, in which he rejoices to hear that Glenco had not taken the oath, and
that of the sixteenth of January, of the same date with the king's addi-
tional instructions , and that of the thirtieth of the same month, were no
ways warranted by, but quite exceeded the king's foresaid instructions,
since the said letters, without any insinuation of any method to be taken
that might well separate the Gleuco-men from the rest, did, in place of
prescribing a vindication of public justice, order them to be cut off and
rooted out in earnest, and to purpose, and that, suddenly, and secretly,
and quietly, and cdl on a sudden, which are the express terms of the
said letters ; and comparing them and the other letters with what en-
sued, appeared to have been the only warrant and cause of their slaugh-
ter, which in effect was a barbarous murder, perpetrated by the persons
deponed against. And this was yet farther confirmed by two more of
his letters, written to Colonel Hill after the slaughter was committed, viz.
one on the fifth of March, sixteen hundred and ninety-two, wherein,
after having said, " That there was much talk at London, that the
Glenco-men were murdered in their beds, after they had taken the
allegiance," he continues, " For the last I knew nothing of it ; I am
sure neither you, nor any body impowered to treat or give indemnity,
did give Glenco the oath ; and to take it ffom any body else after the
diet elapsed, did import nothing at all ; all that I regrate is, that any of
the sort got away, and there is a necessity to prosecute them to the
utmost." And another from the Hague, the last of April, sixteen hun-
dred and ninety-two, wherein he saj's, " For the people of Glenco, when
you do your duty in a thing so necessary to rid the country of thieving,
you need not trouble yourself to take the pains to vindicate yourself by
showing all your orders, which are now put in the Paris Gazette ; when
you do right you need fear nobody ; all that can be said is, that in the
execution it was neither so full nor so fair as might have been."

The commissioners appear to have discovered no evidence to impli-
cate the earl of Breadalbane, but merely say, in reference to him, that
it " was plainly deponed" before them, that, some days after the slaugh-
ter, a person waited upon Glenco's sons, and represented to them that
he was sent by Campbell of Balcaldcn, the chamberlain or steward of
the earl, and authorized to say, that, if they would declare, under thdr

MASSACRE OF GLENCO. 223

hands, that his lordship had no concern in the slaughter, they might
be assured the earl would procure their " remission and restitu-
tion." While the commissioners were engaged in this inquiry, they
ascertained that, in his negotiations with tlic Highlanders, the earl had
acted in such a way as to lay Iiimsclf open to a charge of high trea-
son, in consequence of vvliicli discovery, he was committed prisoner to
tlie castle of Edinburgh; but lie was soon liberated from confinement,
as it turned out that he had professed himself a Jacobite, that he miglit
the more readily execute tiie commission with wliich he had been in-
trusted, and tliat King William himself was a party to this contrivance-
The report of the commissioners was laid before the parliament of
Scotland on tiie twenty-fourtli of June, which, although it voted the
execution of the Glenco-men to be a murder, resolved nemine contradi-
cente, that the instructions contained in the warrant of the sixteenth of
January, sixteen hundred and ninety-two, did not authorize the mas-
sacre. After a variety of procedure at different sittings, " the committee
for the security of the kingdom" was appointed to draw up an address
to the king on the subject of the massacre, whicli being submitted to
parliament on the tentli of July, was voted and approved of

In this address the estates staled, that in the first place they had found
that the Master of Stair's letters had exceeded his Majesty's instructions
as to the killing and destruction of the Glenco-men — that this appeared
by comparing the instructions and letters — that in these letters the
Glenco-men were over and again distinguished from the rest of the
Highlanders, not as the fittest subjects of severity in case they continued
obstinate, and made severity necessary according to the meaning of the
instructions, but as men absolutely and positively ordered to be de-
stroyed without any further consideration, than that of their not having
taken the indemnity in due time, and that their not having taken it was
valued as a happy incident, since it afforded an opportunity to destroy
them — that the destroying of them was urged with a great deal of zeal,
as a thing acceptable and of public use, and this zeal was extended even
to the giving of directions about the manner of cutting them off; from
all which it was plain tliat though the instructions were for mercy to all
who would submit, though the day of indemnity had elapsed, yet the
letters excluded the Glenco-men from this mercy.

The Parliament stated in the next place that they had examined the
orders given by Sir Thomas Livingston in this matter, and were unani-
mously of opinion, that he had reason to give such orders for cutting oif
the Glenco-men, upon the supposition that they had rejected the indem-
nity, and without making them new offers of mercy, being a thing in
itself lawful, which his majesty might have ordered ; but it appearing
lhat»Sir Thomas was then ignorant of the peculiar circumstances of the
Glenoo-men, he might very well have understood his majesty's instruc-
tions in the restricted sense, which the Master of Stair's letters had
given them, or understood the Master of Stair's letters to be his ma-

224 HISTORY OF THE MIOHLANDS.

jesty's additional pleasure, as it was evident he did from the orders wliich

he gave.

Tliey then inform his majesty that thty next proceeded to examine
Colonel Hills part of tlie business, and that they were unanimous that
he was clear and free from the slaughter of the Glenco-men ; for though
his majesty's instructions, and the Master of Stair's letters were sent
direct to him as well as to Livingston from London ; yet as he knew
the particular circumstances of the Glcnco-men, he avoided executing
these instructions, and gave no orders in the matter, till finding that
his Lieutenant-Colonel (Hamilton) had received orders to take with
him four hundred men of his garrison and regiment, he, to save his own
honour and authority, gave a general order to Hamilton to take the
four hundred men, and put in due execution the orders which others
had given him.

That as to Hamilton the parliament had required him to attend, but
as he had not appeared, tliey had ordered him to be denounced, and to
be seized wherever he could be found ; and that having considered the
orders that he had received, and the orders which he admitted before the
commission he had given, and his share in the execution, they had agreed
that from what appeared he was not clear of the murder of the Glenco-
men, and that there was ground to prosecute him for it.

As to Major Duncanson who had received his orders from Hamilton,
they stated that as he and the persons to whom he had given instructions
were absent in Flanders, and as they had not seen these orders, they had
only resolved, in the meantime, to address his majesty either to cause him
to be examined in Flanders about the orders he received, and his know-
ledge of the affair, or to order him home for trial.

The estates stated, in the last place, that the depositions of the wit-
nesses being clear as to the share which Captain Campbell of Glenlyon,
Captain Drummond, Lieutenant Lindsay, Ensign Lundy, and Sergeant
Barker had in the massacre of the Glenco-men, upon whom they had
been quartered, they had come to the conclusion that the said persons
were the actors in the slaughter of the Glenco-men, and that they
had agreed to address his majesty to send them home for trial for the
said slaughter, according to law.

The estates, therefore, humbly prayed his majesty, "that, considering
that the Master of Stair's excess in his letters against the Glenco-men
has been the original cause of this unhappy business, and hath given
occasion, in a great measure, to so extraordinary an execution, by the
warm directions he gives about doing it by way of surprise ; and consi.
dering the station and trust he is in, and that he is absent, we do therefore
beg that your majesty will give such orders about him for vindication of
your government, as you in your royal wisdom shall think fit. And,
likewise, considering that the actors have barbarously killed men under
trust, we humbly desire your majesty would be pleased to send the actors
home, and to give orders to your advocate to prosecute them according

MASSACRE OF GLENCO. ^25

to liiw, there remaining notliins* else to be done for the full vindication
of your government from so foul and scandalous an aspersion, as it has
Iain under ui)on this occasion/'

As the surviving inhabitants of the glen had been reduced to great po-
verty and distress by the destruction of their property, and as they had
conducted themselves with great moderation under their misfortunes, the
estates solicited his majesty to order reparation to be made to them for
the losses they had sustained in tlieir properties. Whether the " royal
charity and compassion" (how misapplied are these words when used
in the present instance) invoked by the estates in behalf of these unfor-
tunate people were ever exercised does not appear ; but it is higlily pro-
bable, that this part of the address was as little heeded as the rest
The murderers, instead of being brought to trial, were allowed by Wil-
liam to remain in his service, and some of them were even promoted ;
but what justice could be expected from a government which had the
audacity to bestow a pension upon the most perjured villain that ever
trod the earth — the infamous Titus Oates I In fact, the whole matter
was hushed up by William and his ministers, and the report of the
Scottish Parliament, though drawn up as favourably for the king as
possible, was carefully suppressed during his lifetime, a pretty sure in-
dication that they were afraid to court a scrutiny into one of the most
revolting and barbarous occurrences tliat ever disgraced any govern-
ment *

• The following extraordinary anecdote is given by General Stewart (SUetches, Vol.
I.) in reference to the punishment which, in the opinion of the Highlanders, — an
opinion in perfect accordance with the Decalogue, — awaits the descendants of tlie
oppressor. •' The belief that punishment of the cruelty, oppiession, or misconducl
of an individual, descended as a curse on his children to the third and fourth ge-
neration, was not confined to the common people. All ranks were influenced by it,
believing that if the curse did not fall upon the first, or second generation, it would
inevitably descend upon the succeeding. The late Colonel Campbell of Glenlyon
retained this belief throufih a course of thirty \ears' intercourse with the world, as
an officer of the 42d regiment, and of Marines. He was grandson of the Jaird of Glen-
lyon, who commanded the military at the massacre of Glenco; and who lived in
the laird of Gleiico's house, where he and his men were hospitably received as friends,
and entertained a fortnight before the execution of his orders. He was playing
at cards with the family when the first shot w;is fired, and the murderous scene com
menced. Colonel Campbell was an additional captain in the 42d regiment in 1748, and
was put on half pay. He then entered the Marines, and in 1762 was major, with the
brevet rank of lieutenant-coUmel, and commanded eight hundred of his corps at the
Havannah. In 1771, he was ordered to superintend the execuliun of the sentence of a
court-martial on a soldier of marines, condemned to be shot A reprieve was sent, but
the whole ceremony of the execution was to proceed until the criminal was upon his
knees, with a cap over his eyes, prepared to receive the volley. It was then he was to be
informed of his pardon. No person was to he told previously, and Colonel Campbell
was directed not to inform even the firing party, who were warned that the signal to fire
would he the waving of a white handkerchief by the commanding officer. When all
was prepared, and the clergyman had left the prisoner on his knees, in momentary ex-
pectation of his fate, and the firing party were looking with intense attention for thn
signal. Colonel Campbell put his hand intn his pocket for the reprieve, and in pulling
II. 2 F

226

HISTORY OF THK HIGHf.ANDS.

out the packet the wliite hankerchief accompanied it, and catching the eyes ot the ytirty,
they fired, and the unfortunate prisoner was shot dead,

**The paper dropped through Colonel Campbell's fingers, and clapping his hand to
his forehead, he exclaimed, * The curse of God and of Glenco is here, 1 am an unfor-
tunate ruined man.' He de&irt;d the soldiers to be sent to the barracks, instantly
quitted the parade, and soon afterwards retired from the sei^vice. This retirement was
not tlie result of any reflection or reprimand on account of this unfortunate affair, as it
was known to be entirely accidentiil. Tlie impression on liis mind, however, was never
efl*aced. Nor is the massacre and the judgment which the people believe has fallen on
the descendants of the principal actors in this tragedy, eiiaced from their recollection.
They carefully note, that while tlie family of the unfortunate gentleman who suffered is
still entire, and liis estate preserved in direct male succession to his posterit\, this is not
the case wiih the family, posterity, and estates, of those who were the principals, pro-
moters, and actors in this black atTair."

The same author, to illustrate the force of principle, when founded on a sense of
honour and its consequent influence, relates another anecdote in reference to this mas-
sacre, whicli also deserves to be here repeated. Wlien the army of Prince Charles, in
the ranks of which were Macdonald of Glenco, the descendant of the murdered chief,
and all his followers, lay at Kirkliston in the year 1745, near the seat of the earl of
iJtair, the grandson of Secretary Dalrymple, who took such a prominent part in the
massacre, tlie prince, anxious to save the house and property of Lord Stair, and to re-
move from his followers all excitement to revenge, but at the same time not compre-
hending their true character, proposed that the Glenco-men should be marched to a dis-
tance from Lord Stair's house and parks, lest the remembrance of tlie share which his
grandfather had had in the order for extirpating the whole clan, should now excite a
spirit of revenge. When the proposal was communicated to the Glenco-men, they de-
clared that, if that was the case, they must return home. If they were considered so
dishonourable as to take revenge on an innocent man, they were not fit to remain with
honourable men, nor to support an honourable cause; and it was not without much ex-
planation, and greut persuasion, tliat they were prevented from marcliing away the fol-
lowing morning."

CHAPTER XI.

The Unrien Company — Its Progress and Suppression — Death uf tiie joung Duke o(
Gloucester — Hopes of the Jucohiles — Act of Succession passed — Death of James IX
— His character — Death and character of King William — Accession of the Princess
Aiuie — Proceedings in the Scottish Parliament — Conspiracy of Simon Fraser, Lord
Lovat — Struggles in the Scottish Paiiianunt about the succession — Nomination of
Commissioners to treat about a Union with England — Ferment in Scotland against
the Union — I-Iooke*s negotiation — Preparations in France for invading Scotland —
Sailing of the French fleet with the Chevalier de St George — Unsuccessful result of
the expedition — State of Scotland— Pructedings of the Jacobites — Dtath of Queen
Anne.

To allay the excitement which the massacre of Glenco had created in
the minds of the people against the government, advantage was taken
by William and his ministers, of a scheme proposed by Paterson, the
celebrated projector, for establishing a company in Scotland for trading
to Africa and the Indies ; by countenancing which, they expected not
only to stifle inquiry into the massacre, but also to engage the Scottish
nation to support the measures of the government.

Accordingly, the commissioner to the Scottish parliament was ordered
by the king to declare, " That if the members found it would tend to
the advancement of trade, that an act should be passed for the encour-
agement of such as should acquire and establish a plantation in Africa,
America, or any other part of the world where plantations might be
lawfully acquired, his majesty was willing to grant to the subjects
of this kingdom, in favour of these plantations, such rights and privi-
leges as he granted in like cases to the subjects of his other dominions.''
Pursuant to this declaration, an act was passed, establishing a com-
pany for trading to the East and West Indies, with a variety of impor-
tant privileges, and so eager were the nobility and gentry of Scotland
for the success of a concern which appeared to promise many national
advantages, that they advanced £400,000 to promote the undertaking.
As the greater part of the isthmus of Darien or Panama had not yet
been colonized, and as its situation was peculiarly calculated for carry-
ing on trade with both the Indies, Paterson fixed upon it as the head-
quarters of his commercial association, which thence took the name of
the Darien company.

No sooner, however, was the scheme promulgated, than a spirit of
opposition was raised against it by the English House of Coratuons, in-

228 HISTORY OF THE HIOHLANDS.

sligated by the English East India company, which came to a resolution,
that the directors of the Darien company had, by administering and
taking " an oath deJidcU, and, under colour of a Scotch act of parlia-
ment, styling themselves a company, and acting as such, and raising
monies in this kingdom (England), for carrying on the said company,"
been " guilty of a high crime and misdemeanor." Yet notwithstanding
this direct attack upon the company, such was the favour in which it
was held in England, that a sum of £300,000 was subscribed there, of
w liich a fourth part was paid down ; and even the merchants of Ham-
burg offered to embark £200,000 in the undertaking. But the Darien
(•ompany might have surmounted the opposition of the house of com-
mons and the English East India company, had not the Dutch East
India company — a body remarkable for its monopolizing character —
also joined in the outcry against the Scottish enterprise. Intent upon
their object, the directors of the company, in spite of every opposition,
made the necessary preparations for taking possession of the intended set-
tlement, and accordingly fitted out an expedition of five ships and twelve
hundred men, which set sail from Leith roads on the seventeenth day of
July, sixteen hundred and ninety-eight. The greater part of the men
who went out consisted of veterans, who had served in King William's
wars, and the remainder consisted of Highlanders and others who had
been opposed to the revolution, and about three hundred gentlemen of
family, desirous of trying their fortunes. The expedition arrived on
the coast in the beginning of November, and disembarked at a harbour
near Golden island, between Portobello and Carthagena. The new set-
tlers were well received by the inhabitants, and as matters began to look
well, the most favourable anticipations were entertained of the success
of the enterprise ; but the colonists had soon the mortification to find
that the king had given way to the clamours of the two great English
and Dutch rival companies, which be had resolved to gratify at the ex-
pense of the Darien company. In fact they soon found that procla-
mations, by order of William, had been issued by the governors of
Jamaica and the English settlements in America, prohibiting under the
severest penalties, all intercourse with the Scottish settlers, or assisting
them in any shape ; in consequence of which, they were obliged to
abandon the settlement for want of provisions and other necessaries. A
second expedition shared a similar fate, and a third much better pro-
vided and more numerous than either the first or second capitulated to
the Spaniards.

When accounts of the ruin of the colony reached Scotland, a feel-
ing of universal dismay seized the nation, as if its only happiness in
future was to have consisted in the fulfilment of those golden dreams
which had floated in the vivid imaginations of the sanguine adven-
turers. Thousands of families, once in comparative opulence, now
found themselves reduced to ruin, and the flower of the nation was
either languishing in prison in the Spanish settlements, or starving m

THE DARIEN COMPANY. 229

the English colonies. To the bitterness of disappointment succreded
an implacable hostility to the king, who was denounced, in pamphlets of
the most violent and inflammatory tendency, as a hypocrite, and as the
deceiver of those who had shed their best blood in his cause, and as
the author of all the misfortunes which had befallen Scotland, One of
these pamphlets was voted by the house of commons a false, scandalous,
and seditious libel, and ordered to be burned by the common execu-
tioner, and an address was voted to his majesty to issue a proclama-
tion for apprehending the author, printer, and publisher of the obnoxious
publication ; but although the proclamation was issued, no apprehen-
sion followed. The king was so chagrined at the conduct of the Scotch
that he refused to see Lord Basil Hamilton, who had an address to
present to his majesty from the company, praying for his interference
on behalf of their servants who were kept in captivity by the Span-
iards. He, however, desired the Scottish secretaries to intimate to the
company that he would attend to their request, and would endeavour to
promote the trade of Scotland ; but unsatisfied with such a declaration,
the directors of the company requested the lord- chancellor of Scot-
land, then in London, to urge his majesty to receive Lord Basil
Hamilton. Seeing no waj' of evading the importunity of the com-
pany, and neutralizing the ferment which prevailed in Scotland,
the king threw himself upon the English parliament. A motion,
that the settlement of the Scottish colony at Darien was inconsist-
ent with the good of the plantation trade in England, was carried in
the house of lords in favour of the ministers, afler a warm debate, by
a small majority. An address to his majesty was then voted by the
lords, in accordance with this resolution, in which, after declaring their
sympathy with their fellow-subjects for their losses, they approved of the
prohibitory orders which his majesty had sent to the governors of the
plantations. The house of commons, however, refused to concur in
this address, chiefly, it is believed, from an antipathy entertained by a
majority of the house at the Dutch, on account of the predilection
shown by the king on all occasion to his countrymen. In his answer
to the address of the lords, the king having recommended a union of
the two kingdoms as a measure eminently calculated for the good of
both countries, a bill was introduced into the house of lords, appointing
commissioners to treat with commissioners from Scotland about a union ;
but this bill was rejected by the commons from sheer opposition to the
court.

In direct contradiction to the house of lords, the Scottish parliament
voted that the colony of Darien was a lawful and rightful settlement
which they would support ; a resolution which induced the duke of
Queensberry, the commissioner, to prorogue the session. But this step
only tended to increase the discontents of the nation ; and, to show the
king that the people would be no longer trifled with, an address to his
majesty, containing a detail of national grievances, and representing the

230 HISTORY OP THE HIGHLANDS.

necessity of calling an immediate meeting of parliament, was drawn up
and signed by a considerable number of the members ; and a deputation,
with Lord Ross at its head, was appointed to present the address to the
king. His majesty, however, evaded the address, by informing the
deputation that they would be made acquainted in Scotland with his
intentions ; and, as if to show his displeasure, he ordered the parliament
to be adjourned by proclamation.

Exasperated at this attempt to stifle the just complaints of the na-
tion, the promoters of the first address began to prepare a second one,
to be signed by the shires and burghs of the kingdom. But before this
new address was completed, the king, by the advice of the duke of Queens-
berry, wrote a letter to him and the privy council for the purpose of
allaying the national ferment, and which they immediately published.
Although in this letter the king regretted the loss which the people of
Scotland had sustained, and assured them that he had their interest at
heart, and that they should soon have convincing proofs of his inclina-
tion to promote the wealth and prosperity of Scotland, and that his in-
tended absence from England had obliged him to adjourn the parlia-
ment, which he promised to convene on his return ; yet, as William's
sincerity was doubted — the people wisely judging that the explanation
was a mere state expedient — the national excitement was increased
instead of being diminished, by the promulgation of the letter.

The Scottish nation was now fully ripe for a rebellion, but 'neither
James nor his advisers had the capacity to avail themselves of passing
events, to snatch the tottering crown from the head of the illustrious
foreigner, who was destined to be the happy instrument of placing the
liberties of the nation upon a more sure and permanent footing than
they had hitherto been. The hopes of the Jacobites were, however,
greatly raised by the jatrings between the king and his Scottish sub-
jects, and an event occurred, about this time, which tended still farther
to strengthen them. This was the death of the young duke of Glou-
cester, the only surviving child of the princess Anne, who died of a
malignant fever, ou the twenty-ninth day of July, in the year one thou-
sand seven hundred, in the eleventh year of his age. As the Jacobites
considered that the duke stood chiefly in the waj' of the accession of
the prince of Wales to the crown, they could not conceal their pleasure
at an occurrence which seemed to pave the way for the restoration of
the exiled family, and they privately despatched a trusty adherent to
France to assure King James that they would settle the succession upon
the prince of Wales. Such a proposition had indeed been made by
William himself at an interview he had with Louis XIV. in sixteen
hundred and ninety-seven, when a prospect opened of James being
elected king of Poland on the death of John Sobieski ; but this proposal
was rejected by James, who told the king of France, that though lie
could bear with patience the usurpation of his nephew and son-in-law,
he would not allow his own son to commit such an act of injustice ; thai

DEATH OF JAMES II. 5!3l

t)V permitting his son to reign while he (James) was alive, he would, in
fact, be lieki as having renounced his crown, and that tlio prince of
Wales would also be held as having resigned his own right, if he
accepted the crown as successor to the prince of Orange. As James
had now given up all idea of a crown, and was wholly engrossed with
the more important concerns of a future life, it is probable that he re-
ceived the proposal of his friends in a very different spirit from that he
evinced when made by William.

The designs of the Jacobites, however, were frustrated by the in-
trigues of the princess Sophia, electress and dutchess dowager of Hano-
ver, grand-daughter of King James VI., who had for several years
contemplated the plan of getting the succession to the English crown
settled upon her and her heirs. An act was accordingly passed by the
English parliament in June, seventeen hundred and one, at the desire
of the king, whom the princess had prevailed upon to espouse her cause,
declaring her to be the next in succession to the crown of England,
af^er his majesty and the princess Anne, in default of issue of their
bodies respectively, and that after the decease of William and Anne
respectively without issue, the crown and government of England
should remain and continue to the princess Sophia and the heirs of her
body, being protestants. This act, which, by one fell swoop, cut off the
whole catholic descendants of James the First, of whom there were forty
then alive, all nearer heirs to the crown than the princess, gave great
offence to all the catholic princes concerned in the succession ; but the
dutchess of Savoy, grand-daughter of Charles I., the next in the line of
Succession af^er the family of King James II., alone openly asserted her
right, by ordering her ambassador, Count Maffei, to protest in her
name against every act of the English parliament tending to deprive
her of her hereditary right to the crown. The count, accordingly, drew
up a protest, two copies of which were delivered to the lord-keeper and
the speaker of the house of commons, by two gentlemen in presence of
a notary ; but no notice being taken of the matter in parliament, it was
altogether overlooked.

The act of settlement in favour of the princess Sophia and her heirs,
was a death-blow to the Jacobite interest, but still the hopes of the party
were not extinguished. As James had given up all idea of dispossessing
William, and even discountenanced any attempt to disturb the peace of
the kingdom during his own life-time, the partizans of his family had given
up every expectation of his restoration. But the death of King James,
which took place at St Germains on the sixteenth of September, seventeen
hundred and one, and the recognition of his son by Louis XIV. as king,
were events which opened up brighter prospects than they had yet en-
joyed. The unfortunate monarch had, for several years, taken farewell
of worldly objects, and had turned his whole attention to the concerns
of eternity, setting an example to all around him of Christian humility
and of calm resignation to the will of Providence. Ardently attached

232 HISTORY OP THE HIGHLANDS.

to the creed which, from principle, he had embraced, he conjured his
son in his last illness, rather to forego the splendours of a crown and
every worldly advantage, than renounce his religion ; and while he de
clared that he heartily forgave all those who had injured him, he recom-
mended to his son the practice of Christian forgiveness and justice. 01
the arbitrary and uuconstitutional conduct of James, at the period pre-
ceding the revolution, it is impossible for any lover of genuine liberty
to speak without feelings of indignation ; but it must not be forgotten,
that in his time the prerogatives of the crown were not clearly defined,
and that he was misled by evil counsellors, who, to effect his ruin, ad-
vised him to violate the existing constitution.

Nothing but the prospect of an immediate war with England could,
it is believed, have induced Louis to recognise, as he did, the prince of
Wales as king of England, Ireland, and Scotland. William remonstrated
against this act of the French king, as a violation of the treaty of Kys-
wick, and appealed to the king of Sweden, as the guarantee for its ob-
servance ; but Louis was inflexible, and maintained in the face of all
Europe, that he was not debarred by the treaty from acknow ledging the
title of the prince of Wales, to which he had right by birth. He ad-
mitted that by the fourth article of the treaty he was bound not to dis-
turb William in the possession of his dominions, and he declared his in-
tention to adhere to that stipulation ; but this explanation was considered
quite unsatisfactory by W^illiam, who recalled his ambassador from
Paris. The conduct of the French king excited general indignation in
England, and addresses were sent up from all parts of the kingdom, ex-
pressive of attachment to the government. The English parliament
passed two separate acts of attainder against the pretended prince of
Wales, as the son of James was termed, and the queen, his mother, who
acted as regent. Great preparations were made for entering into a war
with France, and William had concerted with his allies the plan of a
campaign, but he did not live to see the gigantic schemes which he had
devised for humbling the pride of France put into execution. He ex-
pired at Kensington on the eighth day of March, seventeen hundred
and two, in consequence of a fall from his horse, on the twenty-first day
of February preceding, which fractured his collar-bone. He reigned
thirteen years, and was in the fifty-second year of his age.

In person, William was of the middle stature ; his body was slender,
and his constitution delicate. He had an aquiline nose, sparkliug eyes,
a large forehead, and a grave, solemn aspect. He was extremely re-
served in conversation, and, when he did speak, his conversation was
dry and uninteresting. Naturally grave and phlegmatic, he never
showed any symptoms of fire or animation except on the day of battle,
when he was all life and energy. Sullen in bis disposition, he was an
utter stranger to the tender sympathies, and dead to every warm and
generous emotion. His ruling passion was ambition, to gratify which
he did not scruple to adopt means the most unworthy — to disregard the

-STATE OF PARTIES. 233

ties of kindred — and to sacrifice the interests of the country which had
adopted him.

The accession of the princess Anne gave satisfaction to all parties,
particularly to the Jacobites, who imagined, now that she had no heirs
of her own body, that she would be induced to concur with them in
getting the succession act repealed, so as to make way for her brother,
the prince of Wales. At first the queen seemed disposed to throw her-
self into the hands of the Tory faction, at the head of which was the earl
of Rochester, first cousin to the queen, who was averse to a war with
France ; but the earl, afterwards the celebrated duke of Marlborough,
his rival, succeeded, through the intrigues of his countess, in altering the
mind of her majesty, and war was accordingly declared against France
on the fourth day of May.

The Scottish parliament, which under a late act should have met
within twenty days after the death of the king, did not, however,
assemble till three months thereafter, the queen having deferred
the meeting by repeated adjournments. The Scottish ministry, who
were all of the revolution party, probably afraid of the result of an
election, were anxious for the continuance of the parliament; but the
Jacobite party, at the head of which was the duke of Hamilton, who, as
earl of Arran, had suffered for his loyalty to King James, was desirous
of a new parliament. The parliament, to which the duke of Queensberry
was appointed commissioner, met on the ninth day of June; but before
his commission was read, the duke of Hamilton objected to the legality
of the meeting, the parliament having been virtually dissolved, as he
maintained, by not having met within the statutory period ; and having
taken a formal protest against its proceedings, he withdrew from the
house, followed by seventy-nine members of the first rank in the kingdom,
amidst the acclamations of the people. The seceding members, thereupon,
sent up Lord Blantyre to London with an address to the queen, but she
refused to see him. This refusal highly displeased the people, whose
resentment was still farther increased by a prosecution raised by the lord
advocate against the faculty of advocates, for having, by a vote, approved
of the secession and address. Several acts were passed by the parlia-
ment, one of the most important of which was that which authorized
the queen to name commissioners for negotiating a treaty of uuion with
England. An attempt was made by the earl of Marchmont, the lord-
chancellor, (better known as Sir Patrick Home of Polwarth) without
any instructions from his colleagues, and even contrary to the advice of
the commissioner, to alter the succession, by bringing in a bill similar
to that which had passed in England for abjuring the prince of Wales,
and settling the succession on the princess Sophia and her heirs ; but as
the ministry had no instructions from the queen, the bill was not sup-
ported. It is not improbable that Marchmont intended, by the intro-
duction of this measure, to sound the disposition of the queen in regard
of her brother.

II. 2 a

234 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

The queen, by virtue of the powers conferred on her by the parlia-
ments of England and Scotlanc], named commissioners to treat about a
union, wlio accordingly met at the Coclvpit, near Whitehall, on the twentj'-
second day of October ; but after some of the preliminaries had been
adjusted, the conference broke off, in consequence of the Scottish com-
missioners insisting that all the rights and privileges of the Darien com-
pany should be preserved and maintained.

A partial change in the Scottish ministry having taken place, the
queen resolved upon calling a new parliament, in the spring of seven
teen hundred and three, previous to which, she issued an act of indem-
nity in favour of every person who had taken any part against the
government since the revolution, and allowed such of them as were
abroad to return home. Under the protection of this amnesty many of
the Jacobites returned to Scotland, and took the oaths to the govern-
ment, in the hope of forwarding the interest of the prince of Wales.
At this time Scotland was divided into three parties. The first consist-
ed of the revolutionists, who were headed by the duke of Argyle. The
second of what was called the country party, who were opposed to the
union, and who insisted on indemnification for the losses sustained in the
Darien speculation, and satisfaction for the massacre of Glenco and
other grievances sufiered in the late reign. The duke of Hamilton and
the marquis of Tweeddale took the direction of this partj'. The last,
called Mitchell's club, from the house they met in, was composed entirely
of the Jacobites or Cavaliers. These were headed by the earl of Home.*
The two latter parties, by coalescing at the elections, might have returned
a majority favourable to their views ; but the earl of Seafield, who had
succeeded the earl of Marchmont as chancellor, had the address to se-
parate the Jacobites from the country party, and, by making them be-
lieve that he was their friend, prevailed upon them to throw their inter-
est at the elections into the scale of the government. The parliament,
however, which met on the sixth of May, was not so pliable to ministerial
dictation as might have been expected, for although the royal assent
was refused to what was called the act of security for limiting the
power of the crown " this session of parliament, (to use the words of
Lockhart,) did more for redressing the grievances and restoring the li-
berties of the nation than all the parliaments since the year lfiGO."f
It was in this parliament that the celebrated patriot, Fletcher of Salton,
first distinguished himself.:j; The earl of Marchmont again brought in

• Lockhart Papers, Vol. I. p. 58. f- Ibid. Vol. I. p. 71.

t The following is the character of this patriot, fronr the pen of Lockhart, a stem
Jacobite, and of course no way prejudiced in his favour: — " The thoughts of England's
domineering over Scotland, was what his generous soul could not do away with. Tii6
indignities and oppression Scotland lay under, galled him to the heart; so tliat in his
learned and elaborate discourses, he exposed them with undaunied courage and pathetic
eloquence. He was blessed with a soul that hated and despised whatever w.is mean and
unbecoming a gentleman, and was so stedfast to what he thought right, that no hazard
nor advantage, no, not the universal empire, nor the gold of America, could tempt him
to yield or desert it. And I may affirm that, in all his life, he never once pursued a

FRASER OF BEAUFORT's PLOT. 235

his bill for settling the crown of Scotland upon the house of Hanover ;
but such was the indignation witli which the proposal was received by
the house, that some of the members proposed that the bill should be
burnt, while others moved tliat the proposer of the measure should be
committed to the castle of Edinburgh, On a division the bill was
thrown out by a very large majority.

After the prorogation of the parliament, the courtiers and the heads
of the cavaliers repaired to London to pay court to the queen, who
received them kindly, and conferred marks of her favour upon some of
them. The marquis of Athole, in particular, who aspired to be leader
of the Jacobites, was made a duke, and invested with the dignity of a
knight of the order of the thistle, which she had just revived to en-
able her to extend the royal favour. Her policy seems to have been
to gain over all parties to her interest ; but she was soon made to
believe that a conspiracy existed against her among the cavaliers to
supersede her, and to place her brotlier upon the throne.

According to Lockhart, this was a sham plot, got up by the duke of
Queensberry, with the special advice and consent of the duke of Ar-
gyle, and the earls of Stair and Leven, and Mr Carstairs, a presby-
terian minister, and one of her majesty's chaplains, to ruin the cava-
liers and the country party, in revenge for the opposition they had
made to him in the last session of parliament, and to prevent these

measure with the prospect of any by-end to himself, nor farther than he judged it fur the
rommon benefit and advantage of his country. He was master of the English, Latin,
Greek, French, and Italian languages, and well versed in history, the civil law, and all
kinds of learning ; and, as he was universally accomplished, he employed his talents for
the good of mankind. He was a strict and nice observer of all the points of honour, and
his word sacred ; as brave as his sword, and had some experience in the art of war, hav-
ing, in his younger years, been some time a volunteer in both the land and sea service.
In his travels he had studied, and came to understand, the respective interests of the
several princes and states of Europe. In his private conversation, aflFable to his friends,
(but could not endure to converse with those he thought enemies to their country,) and free
of all manner of vice. He had a penetrating, clear, and lively apprehension, but so
extremely wedded to his own opinions, that there were few, (and those too must be his
beloved friends, and of whom he had a good opinion,) he could endure to reason against
him, and did for the most part, so closely and unalterably adhere to what lie advanced,
(which was frequently very singular,) that he'd break with his party, before he'd alter
the least jot of his scheme and maxims; and therefore it was impossible for any set of
men, tliat did not give themselv*^s up to be absolutely directed by him, to please him, so
as to carry him along in all points. And thence it came to pass, that he often in parlia-
ment acted a part by blmself, tho' in the main he stuck close to the country party, and
was tlieir Cicero. He was, no doubt, an enemy to all monarchical governments, at least
thought they wanted to be much reformed ; but 1 do very well believe, his aversion to
tlie English and the Union was so great, in revenge to them, he'd have sided with the
Royal family ; but as that was a subject not fit lo be entered upon with him, this is only
a conjecture from some inuendo's I have heard him make ; but so far is certain, he liked,
commended, and conversed with high-flying Tories, more tlian any other set of men,
acknowledging them to be the best countrymen, and of mi st honour, integrity, and ingen-
uity. To sum up all, he was a learned, gallant, honest, and every other way, well accom-
plished gentleman ; and. if ever a man projjoses to serve and merit well of his country,
let him place his courage, zeal, and constancy, as a pattern before him, and think him-
self sufficiently applauded and rewarded, by obtainingthecharacic-of being like Andrew
Fletcher of Salton." — Papers, Pol I., p. 77.

236 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

parties from ever again thwarting his plans. That, in pursuance of
this determination, lie had pitched upon Simon Fraser of Beaufort, after-
wards so well known as the Lord Lovat, who suffered for the part he
acted in the rebellion of seventeen hundred and forty-five, as a fit iustru
raent for effecting his design. Fraser had fled the country in conse-
quence of a sentence of death pronounced against him in absence by
the court of justiciary, for an alleged rape upon the person of the lady
dowager Lovat, sister of the duke of Atliole, and had retired to France ;
but, on account of his reputed crime, and the sentence of outlawry
pronounced against him, he was debarred by King James, during his
life, from appearing at the court of St Germains. Being sent for from
France by Queensberry, he returned to Scotland ; but, knowing the
object for which he was wanted, he had the address before leaving
France, by imposing upon Louis, to whom he was introduced by the
pope's nuncio, to obtain from the widow of King James, acting as re-
gent for her son, a commission of Major-General, with power to raise
and command forces in his behalf. As the court of St Germains had
some suspicion of Fraser's integrity. Captain John Blurray, brother
of Mr Murray of Abercarnie, and Captain James Murraj', brother
of Sir David Murray of Stanhope, were sent over to Scotland, under
the protection of Queen Anne's indemnity, as a check upon him, and
to sound the dispositions of the people.

On arriving on the borders of Scotland, Fraser was met by the
duke of Argyle, who conducted him to Edinburgh, where he was
kept private till he should receive instructions from the duke of Queens-
berry how to act. After obtaining his instructions, and a pass from
the duke to protect him against letters of fire and sword, which had
been issued against him during the reign of King William, he set off
for the Highlands, introduced himself into the society of the adherents
of the exiled family, and, by producing his commission of major-ge-
neral, induced some of them to give him assurances that they would rise
in arms when required, though they regretted that such a character
should have been intrusted with such an important coinmand. Others,
however, apprehensive of his real designs, refused to hold any intercourse
with him on the subject of his mission. He, thereafter, went to London to
report to bis patrons the progress he had made, who, finding that he
had not been able to entrap some of the persons they intended to
insnare, sent him back to France to endeavour to procure letters from
the court of St Germains to the dukes of Hamilton and Athole, the
earls of Seafield and Cromarty, and the leading Jacobite chiefs. To
conceal his journey from the ministry, the duke of Queensberry pro-
cured a pass for him from the earl of Nottingham, the English secre-
tary, under a fictitious name ; but, before Fraser reached Paris, the
whole pretended plot was brought to light by a gentleman of the
name of Ferguson, with whom he had tampered. The duke of Athole
being made acquainted by Ferguson with the discovery he had made.

INVESTIGATION INTO FRASEr's PLOT. 237

immediately laid a state of the matter before the queen, who had been
previousij' apprised of the conspiracy by tlie duke of Queensberry ;
and the dulce being called uiwn for an explanation, excused himself
by saying that, when Fraser came to Scotland, he had received a
written communication from Fraser informing him that he could make
important discoveries relative to designs against the queen's govern-
ment, in proof of which he delivered him a letter from the queen

dowager at St Germains, addressed to L M , which initials

Fraser informed him were meant for Lord Murray, now marquis of
Athole, and that, after seeing him, he had given him a protection in
Scotland, and procured a pass for him in England to enable him to fol-
low out furtlier discoveries.

When this pretended conspiracy became publicly known it excited con-
siderable sensation, and the house of lords immediately resolved that a
committee should be appointed to inquire into the matter ; but the queen,
who was already well acquainted with the circumstances, sent them a mes-
sage, intimating, that as the affair was already under investigation, she was
desirous that the house should not interfere, and she promised in a short
time to inform them of the result. Accordingly, on the seventeenth
day of December, she went to the house of peers, and made a speech to
both houses, informing them that she had complete evidence of evil
practices and designs against her government, carried on by the emis-
saries of France in Scotland. After thanking her majesty for the in-
formation she had given, the peers persisting in their resolution for an
inquiry, appointed a select committee by ballot ; but this proceeding
was resented by the commons as a violation of the laws of the land, and
as an improper interference with the prerogative of the crown, and
they voted an address to the queen accordingly. The upper house in
its turn resented with indignation the conduct of the commons, and
voted that the address of the commons was unparliamentary and
groundless, and highly injurious to the house of peers. They followed
up this resolution by a remonstrance to the queen, in which they justi-
fied their interference in the affair of the conspiracy, and expressed
great zeal and affection for her majesty. The peers proceeded in the
inquiry, and after considerable investigation they agreed to the follow-
ing resolution, " that there had been a dangerous conspiracy in Scot-
land toward the invading that kingdom with a French power, in order
to subvert her majesty's government, and the bringing in the pretended
prince of Wales ; that it was their opinion nothing had given so much
encouragement to these designs as the succession of the crown of Scot-
land not being declared in favour of the Princess Sophia and her heirs ;
that the queen should be addressed to use such methods as she thought
convenient, for having the succession of the crown of that kingdom
settled after that manner ; and that being once done, then they would
do all in their power to promote an entire union of the two kingdoms."
Mr Lockhart asserts that the lords thus interfered at the instance of

238 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

the duke of Queensberry, as he knew that the Whigs would bring hiin
off, and although they were so clear as to the existence of a plot, he
maintains that " it was all trick and villany." Meanwhile Fraser, for
his imposition upon the French king, was committed a prisoner to the
Bastile, in which he remained several years.*

Lord Lovat, in his memoirs, gives a very different version of this affair
from that furnished by Mr Lockhart. After denying in the most
pointed manner the crime for which lie was outlawed, he states that on
his arrival at St Germains, he addressed himself to his cousin, Sir
John Maclean, the chief of the Macleans, who introduced him to Lord
Perth — that that nobleman received him with open arms, and intro
duced him to King James in presence of the queen and the young prince
— that his majesty complained to him of the conduct of the Athole family,
and acknowledged the obli:.'ations he lay under to the family of Lovat —
that King James having advised him to make his peace with the reign-
ing government, to save liis clan, he returned to London, and that not
having been able to obtain a reversal of the outlawry before King
William's departure for Loo, his favourite residence, followed him thither,
with a letter of recommendation from the duke of Argyle to Carstairs,
the chaplain, who had much influence with his royal master. The king
was induced to give Lovat the most " unlimited pardon," and he immedi-
ately despatched his cousin Simon, son of David Fraser of Brae, to get
the great seal of Scotland affixed to it ; but for some reason or other
the pardon was suppressed, and another pardon passed the seals limited
to Lovat's treachery against the king and government. Having, he
says, after the accession of Queen Anne, visited the chiefs of the clans
and some of the Jacobite Scottish peers, he engaged them to grant him
a general commission on their part to go to France and to announce to
the court of St Germains that they were ready to take up arras and
hazard their lives and fortunes for the exiled family, and to require that
the young prince might be sent over with an officer to command the
Jacobite forces.

Lovat says that he arrived at Paris about the month of September,
seventeen hundred and two, and sent an express to Sir John Maclean to
St Germains, to meet him ; and that he thereafter went to court, and was
introduced to Lord Perth, to whom he explained the object of his mis-
sion. The plan was, however, ruined by the earl of INIiddleton, who
undermined Lovat at court, a circumstance which made him resolve to
return to Scotland, but he was induced by Cardinal Gualterio and the
Marquis de Torcy to remain. He then obtained, through the interest
of Madame de Maintenon and others, a private interview with the king
of France, who promised to assist him in his enterprise. Provided with
an ample commission from the young king, Lovat left France for Eng-
land, but he had been anticipated on his journey by James Murray,

• Lockhart, vol. I. pp. 78—83.

LORD LOVAt's account OF THE PLOT. 239

brother of Sir David Murray of Stanhope, who had been privately sent
by the carl of Miildleton to inform the government of Lovat's proceed-
ings. On his arrival in Scotland Lovat found that the Scottish privy
council, in expectation of his coming, had a month before issued a pro-
clamation to take him dead or alive, had fixed a price upon his head,
and had prohibited all persons under pain of death from holding any
intercourse with him in word or writing. He, however, proceeded on
his journey, and had interviews with the heads of the clans, and the
principal Jacobite nobility, all of whom he asserts promised their services.
A council of war was afterwards held in Druramond castle, at which the
chiefs of the clans were for taking up arms immediately, but Lord Drum-
mond having objected to the proposal till succours should arrive from
France, and a commander appointed, the consideration of the mat-
ter was deferred for some months, and in the meantime Lovat was
directed to return to France without delay, and to demand the neces-
sary supplies.

Before setting out for France, Lovat says he was induced, by Lord
Drummond and Captain John Murray, the latter of whom had accom-
panied him to Scotland, and was desirous of remaining in the country to
concert measures with the duke of Gordon and other noblemen attached
to the cause of King James ; to wait upon the dukes of Argyle and Queens-
berry, and the earl of Leven, " to amuse them with a fictitious account of
their journej'," and to entreat them to give no trouble to Mr Murray, who
had come to Scotland merely to visit his relations and friends. At meet-
ing, Queensberry informed Lovat that he was fully aware of the object of
nis visit, which had been fully explained to him by Captain James
Murray, who^iad discovered to him the whole plan of the proposed in-
surrection, and that he was also aware of all Lovat's proceedings in the
north. Queensberry added, that he did not mean to put any questions
to him upon that subject, but to ask a favour from him by informing
him whether there was any truth in the report that the dukes of Athole
and Hamilton had, at the very time they were displaying an officious
zeal in the service of the government, corresponded with the court of
St Germains. On receiving the duke's assurance that Captain Murray
should be protected, Lovat informed him that both Hamilton and
Athole were the most faithful friends and servants of King James, that
Captain James Murray had brought over commissions for tliem from the
court of St Germains ; and that they had promised to take up arms at
a very early period, and to put themselves at the head of the whole
Jacobite party in order to restore the king. This " pretended dis-
covery," Lovat says, had no foundation, as he had been assured by the
(aird of Fintry, that Hamilton was no friend of the exiled family, and
that he even aspired to the crown himself; and as to Athole it was no-
torious that he was " the incorrigible enemy of King James."

The duke of Queensberry was overjoyed at this " chimerical dis-
covery,'' by which he hoped to effect the ruin of two noblemen, who,

240 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

he said, " had for a long time endeavoured to deprive him of estate,
reputation, and life," and made a thousand professions of friendship
to Lord Lovat. He offered to make his peace with Queen Anne, to
obtain a regiment for him and a considerable pension, and to make him
chief-justiciary and commandant of the county in which the estates of
Lovat lay ; but if we are to believe Lovat, he declined these magnificent
offers, being obliged in honour and conscience to return to France, and
to carry on tlie project in which he was engaged. Before taking leave,
Lovat promised that if the duke would favour him with a passport, to
enable him to return immediately to France, he would furnish him, in
due time, with a particular account of Hamilton and Athole's en-
gagements with the court of St Germains, which would enable him
to ruin both these noblemen at the court of London. The duke, not
suspecting any deceit, granted a passport to Lovat upon the spot, writ-
ten and signed bj' himself as the queen's representative in Scotland, to
enable him to proceed in safety from Edinburgh to London. On the
following day Lord Drummond and Captain Murray arrived in Edin-
burgh, who, on being informed by Lovat of the manner he had con-
ducted himself in his interview with the duke, approved of what he
had done, and even applauded the dexterity with which he had deliv-
ered himself from an imminent and unforeseen danger. As both Hamil-
ton and Athole were regarded by Lovat as " impostors" and enemies
of the exiled family, he considered that his conduct, in thus attempting
to ruin them, " far from being a real crime, ought to be regarded as
a good and essential service to the king (James III.), and the sincere,
political, and ingenious fruit of his zeal, for his project, and the interests
of his sovereign."* Such is a specimen of the morality'of this extra-
ordinary personage, who, in his correspondence with the revolution
party, always pretended to be a friend to the revolution settlement.

Alluding to Lockhart's account of the conspiracy, Lovat says, " The
design of the author is sufficiently evident. His book is entirely cal-
culated to undermine the reputation, the interests, and the lives of the
dukes of Queensberry and Argyle, and the earl of Leven, the most
formidable enemies of his party ; and to give to the world, as undoubted
realities, the dark inventions of the duke of Hamilton, and the lords
Athole and Tarbat, produced by the fear of punishment for their cor-
respondence with the court of St Germains, at the same tim.e that they
pretended to be the zealous partisans of the court of London. In pro-
secuting this design, he endeavours to tln-ow upon the shoulders of the
first mentioned noblemen, the contrivance of a project of which they
knew as much as the Khan of Crim Tartary. He represents them as
sending for Lord Lovat, their intimate friend, whom (probably by a mir-
acle) this visionary writer represents as acquainted with the nature and
particulars of their plot, at the distance of two hundred leagues, and

• Memoirs of the Life of Simon, Lord Lovat. Written by liimself. p. 179,

AGITATION OF THE SUCCESSION QUESTIOV IN PAKLIAMKNT. '441

at a time when the commerce of letters was rendered totally impractica-
ble by the war. In the next place, by a miracle not less wonderful, he
converts Lord Lovat to the popish religion, by the advice and com-
mand of his patrons, Queensbcrry, Argyle, Leven, and Carstairs, pil-
lars of the presbyterian religion in Scotland ; a most admirable means
which this author has discovered for advancing tlie interests of the pro-
testant succession.

" And upon this foundation, equally chimerical, false, scandalous, and
diabolical, the author commences his narrative with calumniating Lord
Lovat. He makes him, in the first place, guilty of a rape — a crime of
which he was as innocent as the child unborn, and which the whole
north of Scotland, where Lord Lovat has always been, and is at this
day much loved and respected, knows to have had no foundation but
in the malicious invention of Lord Athole ; — in order to accumulate the
crime of high treason against King William, with which he charged
him ; and to make himself master of his estate : for which tyranny the
name of Athole is regarded with odium and horror, through the whole
north of Scotland.

" The author proceeds with his ridiculous suppositions, and sends
Lord Lovat into France, three years before he quitted his own coun-
try ; not knowing, probably, that Lord Lovat obtained a pardon from
King William ; and that at the time of that prince's death, he was in
quiet possession of his estates, and about to commence a prosecution
against Lord Athole, which would have reduced him to the same beg-
gary as the young Lord Murrays, his brothers, not knowing that it
was at the accession of Queen Anne, and her declared favouritism to
Lord Athole and his other enemies, that Lord Lovat proclaimed his
sovereign in his own province, and afterwards entered into an engage,
ment with the most considerable of the loyal nobility and heads of
clans, previous to his passing into France."*

As the expose in Fraser's affair had rendered the duke of Queens-
berry veiy unpopular in Scotland, he was dismissed from his situation
as one of the Scottish secretaries of state, and the marquis of Tweed-
dale was appointed to succeed him as lord high-commissioner to the
Scottish parliament, which met on the sixth day of July, seventeen
hundred and four. The friends of the duke, afraid that the dukes of
Hamilton and Athole would make his connexion with Fraser the sub-
ject of a parliamentary investigation, entered into a negotiation with
the friends of these noblemen, the result of which was a mutual
arrangement, by which the latter agreed not to push the proposed ex-
amination, and the former in respect of such forbearance, promised to
join the Cavaliers in opposing the succession of the crown on the house
of Hanover, and other court measures.f

At the opening of the session a letter from the queen was read, ex-

' Memoirs, pp. 216 19.

2 H

t Lockbart, vol. I. p. 98.

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

horting the parliament to unit}', and recommending an immediate settle-
ment of the succession as in England, as necessary to establish peace and
secure the protestant religion. Before the ministry, however, had time
to bring on the question of the succession, the duke of Hamilton moved, •
" that this parliament will not proceed to the nomination of a successor
to the crown, until we have had a previous treaty with England, in rela-
tion to our commerce, and other concerns with that nation." The
ministry were greatly surjjrised and perplexed at a proposition which
could not fail to be supported by the voice of the nation. The earl
of Rothes, who had joined the court party, made a counter motion,
that the parliament should, in the first place, proceed to the consider-
ation of such conditions of government as might be judged proper for
rectifving the constitution, by vindicating and securing the sovereignty
and independence of the nation, after which they should take into con-
sideration the other motion for a treaty previous to the nomination of
d. successor to the crown. This proposition, plausible enough, was no
doubt intended to create a division among the Cavalier and country
parties, which the ministry hoped would enable them eventually to
get rid of the duke of Hamilton's motion ; but Sir James Falconer of
Phesdo, to counteract this design, ingeniously conjoined the two mo-
tions, so as to give full effect to each. After congratulating the house
on the emulation displayed by the members to promote the interest and
security of the nation, he said that he thought both the resolutions under
consideration good and necessary, but as it would be a pity that they
should justle with one another, he moved that the house should not
proceed to the nomination of a successor until a treaty should be con-
cluded with England for regulating the commerce of Scotland, and
settling other affairs with that nation ; and further, that the parliament
should proceed to make such limitations and conditions of government
for rectifying the constitution as might secure the religion, indepen-
dence, and liberty of the nation, before proceeding to the nomination
of a successor to the crown. Tliis motion was supported bj' the whole
of the Cavalier party, and unanimously opposed by that of the court.
After a stormy debate, in which Fletcher of Salton took a prominent
part, and gave a most affecting detail of the miseries which the union
of the two crowns of Scotland and England had entailed upon Scotland,
the earl of Rothes' motion was negatived by a vast majority.*

From the temper displayed in the Scottish parliament, it was obvious
(hat without entering into a treaty with Scotland, it would be utterly
impossible for the English ministry to carry the question of the succession
in Scotland. To accomplish this the English parliament authorized the
queen to nominate commissioners to treat with commissioners from
Scotland ; but the conduct of the parliament was by no means calculated
to allay the jealousy entertained by the Scotch, of the interference of Eng-

• Luikhnrt, vol. I. p. 102.

QUESTION OF THE UNION AGAIN AGITATED, 243

land in imposing a foreign sovereign upon tnem. Instead of simply em-
powering the queen to appoint connnissioners, tlie Englisli parliament,
instigated by the Scottisli ministry, insolently directed the Scottish jjar-
liament in the choice of its commissioners, and they even prohibited
their own coniniissioncrs to meet and treat with those of Scotland unless
the parliament of Scotland allowed the queen to name these commis-
sioners herself. And, as if this encroachment upon the liberties of an
independent nation was not sufficiently insulting, all Scotsmen not set-
tled in England, or in its service, were declared aliens, until the succes-
sion to the crown of Scotland should bo settled on the Princess Sophia
and her protestant heirs. Several prohibitory clauses against the trade
of Scotland were also inserted in the act, which were to take effect
about eight months thereafter if the Scottish parliament did not, be-
fore the appointed time, yield to the instructions of that of England.

To strengthen the government party tlie Scottish ministry was changed
and the duke of Queensberry was recalled to office, being appointed to the
privy seal. The Cavaliers, thus deprived of the aid of the duke and
his friends, to which they liad been lately so much indebted, applied to the
marquis of Tweeddale — who, with his displaced friends, had formed a
party called the " squadmtie rohmte," or flying squadron — to unite with
them against the court ; but he declined the proposal, as being incon-
sistent with the object for which it was said to be formed, namely, to
keep the contending parties in parliament in check, and to vote only
tor such measures, by whatever party introduced, which should ap-
pear most beneficial to the country.

Notwithstanding the exertions of the court party, the Scottish mi-
nistry soon found themselves in a minority in the parliament, which was
opened on the twenty-eighth day of June, seventeen hundred and five,
by the duke of Argyle as commissioner. The motion of Sir James
Falconer, which had hitherto remained a dead letter, was again re-
newed ; but although the ministry w'as supported by the squadron in
opposition to the motion, the cavaliers carried it by a great majority.
The dukes of Hamilton and Athole were now desirous of pushing on
the inquiry into the alleged plot, but by advice of the cavaliers, who
insisted that such a proceeding would be a violation of the agreement
entered into between them and the duke of Queensberry's friends, they
desisted for a time. But the duke having prevailed upon such of his
friends as had voted with the cavaliers in the beginning of the session,
to join the court party, the subject was iutroduced before the house in
the shape of a motion, to know what answer the queen had sent to
an address which had been voted to her in the preceding session, to
send down to Scotland against the next session such persons as had
been examined respecting the plot, and the papers connected therewith.
The dukes of Hamilton and Athole vindicated themselves against the
charge of being accessory to Fraser's proceedings, and the latter par-
ticularly, in a long speech, reprobated the conduct of the duke o)

244

HISTORY Of THE HIGHLANDS.

Queensberry, wnom he openly accused of a design to ruin him. Nei-
ther the duke nor his friends made any answer to the charge, and
Athole and Hamilton conceiving that they had cleared themselves suf-
ficiently, allowed the subject to drop. The most important business of
the session was the measure of the proposed union with England, an
act for efi'ecting which was passed, though not without considerable op-
position.

Before the state of the vote upon this measure was announced, the duke
of Athole, " in regard that by an Engli>h act of parliament made in the
last sessions thereof, entituled an act for the effectual securing England
from the dangers that may arise from several acts passed lately in
Scotland, the subjects of this kingdom were adjudged aliens, born out of
the allegiance of the queen, as queen of England, after the twenty-fifth
day of December 1 705," protested that, for saving the honour and in-
terest of her majesty as queen of Scotland, and maintaining and pre-
serving the undoubted rights and privileges of her subjects, no act for a
treaty with England ought to pass without a clause being added there-
to, prohibiting and discharging the commissioners that might be ap-
pointed for carrying on the treaty from departing from Scotland until
the English parliament should repeal and rescind the obnoxious act al-
luded to. To this protest twenty-four peers, thirty-seven barons, and
eighteen of the burgh representatives adhered. When the state of the
vote was announced, the duke of Hamilton, to the infinite surprise of the
cavaliers and the country party, moved that the nomination of the com-
missioners should be left wholly to the queen. From twelve to fifteen
members immediately exclaimed that the duke had deserted and basely
betrayed his friends, and ran out of the house in rage and despair. A
warm debate then ensued, in which Hamilton was roughly handled,
and the inconsistency of his conduct exposed ; but he persisted in his
motion, which was carried by a majority of eight votes. Had the other
members remained he would have found himself in a minority. The
duke of Athole protested a second time for the reasons contained in
his first protest, and twenty-one peers, thirty-three barons, and eigh-
teen burgh representatives adhered to his second protest. The protesters
consisted of most of the cavaliers and the country party, and the whole
of the squadron. The protesters, however, were not discouraged, and
they succeeded so far as to obtain an order of the house prohibiting tlie
Scottish commissioners from treating until the clause in the English
act, declaring the subjects of Scotland aliens, should be repealed, a-
resolution which had the desired effect, the English parliament re-
scinding the clause before the time fixed for its operation arrived.*

In terms of the powers vested in her by the parliaments of England
and Scotland, the queen nominated commissioners, who met in the
council chamber of the Cockpit, near Whitehall, on the sixteenth day of

' Lorkhart, Vul. I., pp. 131, 132, 133, 137, im

FERMENT ABOUT THE UNION HOOKe's NEGOTIATION. 245

April, seventeen hundred and six. During tlieir sittings by intervals, tliey
were twice visited by the queen, who urged them to complete, with as
little delay as possible, a treaty which, she anticipated, would be advan-
tageous to both kingdoms. They, accordingly, proceeded to fulfil the
great object for which they had been appointed, and on the twenty-
second of July, the celebrated treaty of union was finished, and mutually
signed by the contracting parties. By the second article of the treaty,
it was declared that the succession to the monarchy of the United King-
dom of Great Britain, in default of issue of the queen, should remain
and continue to the Princess Sophia and her heirs, being Protestants.

When the terms of the treaty became publicly known in Scotland, a
shout of indignation was set up in every part of the kingdom, at a mea-
sure which, it was supposed, would destroy the independence of the
nation ; and when the Scottish parliament met for the purpose of ratify-
ing the treaty, considerable rioting took place in different parts of the
country, and large bodies of armed men threatened to march upon the
capital, and disperse the assembly. Numerous addresses were sent to
the parliament from every part of the kingdom against the Union, and
considerable opposition was made by the dukes of Hamilton and Athole,
Lord Belhaven, Fletcher of Salton, and others, but the court party,
having obtained the support of the " Squadron," carried the measure by
a great majority.

.A.S the restoration of the son of James II. now appeared to the Scottish
nation as necessary to preserve its independence, various combinations
were entered into among the people to effect it. The inhabitants of the
western shires, chiefly Cameronians, formerly the most determined support-
ers of the Protestant government, all at once became the most zealous
partizans of the exiled family, whose Catholicity they showed themselves
disposed altogether to overlook. Preparatory to more active measures for
accomplishing their object, the ringleaders among them held several
meetings, divided themselves into regiments, chose their officers, provid-
ed themselves with horses and arms, and, notwithstanding the religious
asperity which had long existed between them and the inhabitants of the
northern shires, offered to unite with them in anj' measures which might
be devised for accomplishing the restoration of the young prince, who
had now assumed the title of the Chevalier de St George.* The court
of St Germains, fully aware of the strong national feeling which existed
in favour of the prince, sent, in concert with the French king, one Hooke
into Scotland to obtain intelligence, and to treat with the people for his
restoration. This gentleman had been one of the duke of Monmouth's
chaplains when he invaded England ; but after the execution of that
unfortunate nobleman, Hooke went to France, where he became a Ca-
tholic, and entered into the French service, in which he rose to the rank
of Colonel. He had been in Scotland in seventeen hundred and five

• Lockharl, vol. I. p. Itlfi.

24C HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

on a previous raissioii to the heads of the Jacobite chiefs and the country
party; but though a man of sense, he conducted himself with such in-
discretion, that he could only obtain general promise^, from the parties
he consulted, of their readiness to advance the prince's interest. The
cavaliers, however, sent Captain Henry Straton, a gentleman in whom
they placed great confidence, to France, in July the following year, to
ascertain the extent of the aid thi y might expect from Louis.

Hooke, on this occasion, landed in the north of Scotland, about the end
of February or beginning of i\Iarch, seventeen hundred and seven, and
took up a temporary abode in Slains Castle, the seat of the earl of
Errol, high-constable of Scotland, where he was waited upon by the
countesis-dowager, the mother of the earl, her son being then absent
from home. Instead of consulting, as he should have done, the principal
chiefs upon the subject of his mission, Hooke at first confined himself
to interviews with some gentlemen in the shires of Perth and Angus, by
whom he was received with great favour and hospitality, and looked upon
as a person of no ordinary importance. The attention thus paid him,
flattered his vanity, in return for which he made them his confidents,
and proceeded, in concert with them, to deliberate upon the mode of
accomplishing a restoration. This party, however, had not the wisdom
to conceal the negotiation with Hooke, whose presence iu the country
became consequently generally known. The result was, that the duke
of Hamilton and otliei-s, conceiving themselves slighted, and alarmed at
the imprudence of Hooke's friends, declined to correspond with hiro,
and entered into direct communication with the court of St Germains
itself.

As the French king was desirous of ascertaining the exact situation of
affairs in Scotland, M. de Chamillard, his minister of war, had furnished
Hooke with a paper of instructions, in the shape of questions, to which
he was desired to obtain distinct answers, to enable his majestj' to judge
of the extent of the assistance required from him, and the probability of
success. In answer to these questions, a memorial, addressed to the king
of France, was drawn up, and signed by several noblemen and gentlemen,
in which they stated that the greater part of the Scottish nation had
always been disposed for the service of " its lawful king " ever since
the revolution ; but that this disposition had now become universal,
and that the shires of the west, which used to be the most disaffected,
were now zealous to serve him. That to reap the benefit of so
favourable a disposition, and of so happy a conjuncture, the presence
of the king (the Chevalier) would be absolutely necessary, the people
being unwilling to take arms without being sure of having him at their
head — that 'he whole nation would rise upon his arrival — that he would
become master of Scotland without opposition, and that the existing
government would be entirely abolished — that of the numbers that they
would raise, the memorialists would immediately despatch twenty-five
thousand foot, and five thousand horse and dragoons into England,

PREPARATIONS OF THE CHEVALIER DE ST GEORGE. 247

while the other peers and chiefs would assemble all their men in their
respective shires, and that tlie general rendezvous of the troops on the
nortli of tlie river Tay, should be at Pertli, those of the western shires
at Stirling, and those of the south and cast at Dumfries and Dunse.
As to the subsistence of tlie troops, they informed his majesty that they
would require nothing from him, as the harvests of two years were to
be found in the granaries, and that so great was its abundance, that
a crown nould purchase as much flour as would maintain a man two
months — that there was also a great plenty of meat, beer and brandy in
the kingdom, and cloth, linen, shoes and bonnets, suflScient to clothe a
considerable number of troops. The principal articles they stood in
most need of, were arms and money. Of the furuior, the memorialists
begged his majesty to send them as many as would equip twenty-five
thousand foot, and five thousand horse or dragoons, together with a pro-
portional quantity of ammunition, and also some pieces of artillery,
bombs, &c. Of money, of which the country had been almost drained
by the Daricn speculation, by five years of famine, and by the constant
residence of the nobility at London, they required a remittance of one
hundred thousand pistoles, to enable them to march into England, and
also a regular monthly subsidy during the war. In addition to these
demands, they required that the Chevalier should be accompanied to
Scotland by a body of eight thousand troops, to protect his person
against any sudden attempt by the government forces. The memorial-
ists concluded, by assuring his Most Christian Majesty of their resolution
to bind themselves by the strictest and most sacred ties, to assist one
another in what tiiey deemed a common cause, to forget all family dif-
ferences, and to concur sincerely, and with all their hearts, " without
jealousy or distrust, like men of honour in so just and glorious an enter-
prise."*

Having finished his negotiation, Hooke returned to France in the
month of May, after assuring his friends that " the Pretender '' would
land in Scotland about August following. On arriving at the court
of St Germains, Hooke gave the most flattering account of his re-
ception, and of the zeal of the people in behalf of the Chevalier, and
accused the duke of Hamilton and the other persons who had refiis-
ed openly to commit themselves, of lukewarmness in the cause. The
armament, promised by the king of France, should have been ready in
August; but the court of Versailles contrived to put it off, from time
to time, under various pretences. The fact appears to be, that Louis
was inditterent about the matter, and, although he pretended that his
object was to place the Chevalier upon the throne of his ancestors,
his real object was to create a diversion in his own favour by embroiling
Great Britain in a civil war. His reverses at Ramillies and Turin

• Secret History of Colonel Hooke's Negotiation in Scotland io 1707— Edin. 17Cft
Pp. 69—75.

249 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

had induced him to send Hooke into Scotland to obtain information,
but, having afterwards defeated tlie allies at Almanza, he was in hopes
tliat he would be able to retrieve his affairs without the aid of the in-
tended descent on Scotland.

To hasten the enterprise, the cavaliers sent the Honourable Charles
Fleming, brother of the '^arl of Wigton, over to France with letters
to his most Christian Majesty and the Chevalier, in consequence oi
which, preparations for the expedition were commenced at Dunkirk,
where a squadron was collected under the command of the Chevalier de
Forbin. When the news of these preparations reached England, the
greatest exertions were made to meet the threatened danger. Both
houses of parliament joined in an address to the queen, in which they
pledged themselves to defend her with their lives and fortunes against
the " pretended prince of Wales," and all her other enemies. They
suspended the habeas corpus act, and passed a bill enacting, that all
persons should take the oath of abjuration under the pain of being held
as convicted recusants. They also passed another bill, releasing the
Scottish clans from all vassalage to those chiefs who should appear in
arms against her majesty ; and " the Pretender " and his adherents
were declared traitors and rebels. A large fleet was equipped and
assembled at Deal with extraordinary promptitude, and despatched
towards Dunkirk under the command of Sir John Leake, Sir George
Byng, and Lord Dursley, and transports were engaged to bring over
ten British battalions from Ostend. When this fleet, which the French
had supposed to be destined for Lisbon, appeared off Mardyke, they were
greatly surprised ; and the embarkation of their troops, which had com-
menced, was immediately countermanded. The French admiral repre-
sented to his court the danger of proceeding with the expedition ; but he
received positive orders to finish the embarkation, and to sail with the
first favourable wind. The Chevalier de St George, at taking farewell,
was presented by Louis with a sword studded with costly diamonds,
and sumptuous services of gold and silver plate, rich dresses, and
other necessaries becoming his high station.

While the embarkation was going on, Mr Fleming and a gentle-
man of the name of Arnott were separately despatched for Scotland
from Dunkirk, on the evening of the sixth of March seventeen hun-
dred and eight, in two frigates, with instructions from the Chevalier to
the Jacobite chiefs. Fleming arrived on the northern coast on the
thirteenth, and, when about two leagues off the land, entered a fish-
ing boat which landed him at Slains castle, where he met the earl
of Errol, who received the intelligence of the expedition with great
pleasure. On perusing the Chevalier's instructions, he immediately de-
spatched a messenger to Mr Malcolm of Grange, in Fife, with orders
to have a boat and pilots in readiness at the mouth of the Frith of
Forth to go on board the first vessel that should give the signal agreed on

In the mean time, the British fleet having been forced, by stress of

EXPEDITION OF THE CHEVALIER DE ST OEORGE. 249

weather, off their station on the fourteenth of Marcli, the expedition
sailed on tin; seventeenth from the road of Dunkirk ; but it was detained
in Newport-pits in consequence of a cliange in the wind, till the nine-
teenth, when it again set sail with a fair breeze for Scotland. The ex-
pedition consisted of seven men-of-war, two of which were fitted up
as transports, and twenty-one frigates, having on board five thousand
one hundred troops, under tiie command of Monsiei-r la Comte de
Gassfe, who, on the last-mentioned daj', received from the Frencli king
the patent of a maishal of France, and assumed the name of Mantignon.
While at Newport, three of the frigates, which had received some
damage, returned to Dunkirk ; but, at a council of war, held in the
apartment of the Chevalier, it was resolved, at his desire, to proceed
without them, although these vessels had eight hundred troops on
board, and a considerable quantity of anus and provisions. At the
same council it was also determined to sail directly to the Frith of
Forth, and to disembark the troops at Burntisland, whence it was pro-
posed to send a detachment to take possession of Stirling.*

The French iieet having been observed in Newport-pits from the
steeples of Ostend, a vessel was immediately despatched thence by
Major-General Cadogan to inform Sir George Byng of their having left
Dunkirk : Sir George went immediately in quest of the enemy. The
French fleet, favoured by a strong and fair wind, reached the Frith on the
evening of the twenty-third, without seeing any of the English squadron,
and anchored off Crail, the commander intending to proceed up the Frith
the following morning ; but he had been anticipated by the Proteus,
one of the three vessels which had returned to Dunkirk, and which,
being a superior sailer, had reached the Frith before him, and had given
notice of the approach of the French fleet to the friends of the Cheva-
lier, who lived on the coast, by firing five guns, the concerted signal by
which the friends of the prince along that coast were to be apprized of
his arrival. Malcolm of Grange, who had been for some days anxiously
looking out for the fleet, went immediately on board this vessel with a
pilot.

The resolution of M. de Forbin to proceed up the Frith next
morning, was, however, put an end to, by the appearance, at day
break, of the English fleet, consisting of twenty-eight sail, stand-
ing in for the Frith. Alarmed for the safety of his ships, the French
commander immediately cut his cables, and by favour of a strong land
breeze which fortunately sprung up, stood out to sea under full sail,
having previously given orders to the ditt'erent ships, in case of separa-
tion, to rendezvous at Cromarty, or Inverness. The French vessels
being lighter and cleaner, outstripped the English in sailing, and all of
them escaped, with the exception of the Salisbury, a ship formerly cap-
tured from the English, which was taken. On board of this vessel were

• Al. U'Aiidrezel's Aorniint in Hi.nke, p. 139.
II. '/ I

250

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Lord Griffin, the earl of Middleton's two sons, M. La Vie, a Major-Gen-
eral, Colonel Francis Wauchope, some other officers, and between three
and four hundred soldiers. On the following day, the French commander
finding himself out of sight of the enemy, and all his vessels together,
with the exception of the Salisbury, he consulted with the Marshal de
Mantignon, on the expediency of landing at some place in the north of
Scotland, and proposed Inverness. The Chevalier, who was so desirous
of landing, that he had, though in vain, entreated M. de Forbin,
the preceding day, to put him on shore, though his domestics alone
should accompany him, received this proposal with great satisfaction.
The fleet accordingly, aided by a favourable wind, steered to the north
during the whole of the twenty-fifth ; but at ten o'clock at night, the
wind suddenly changed to the north, and blew directly in their teeth with
considerable violence. As the storm continued the whole of the following
day, and as M. de Forbin was afraid that the fleet would be dispersed,
and might, when separated, fall into the hands of the enemy, a council
was held, at which it was unanimously resolved, with the entire concur-
rence of tiie Chevalier, to return to Dunkirk, where the expedition
arrived on the seventh of iVpril.

Such was the result of an enterprise, which, but for the merest acci-
dental circumstance, might have been crowned with the most complete
success; for had the expedition arrived only a few hours earlier in the
Frith of Forth, the whole troops, arms and ammunition, would have
been landed without opposition. Such were the dispositions of the
people of Scotland in favour of " the Pretender," and so disaffected had
they become towards the government, that a universal rising would un-
doubtedly have taken place in his support had he set his foot in Scotland.
No effectual resistance could have been offered to him by the regular
troops, w'hich did not exceed twenty-five hundred men ; and as little reli-
ance could be placed in them, from their participating generally in the
national feeling ; the earl of Leven, the commander-in-chief, had deter-
mined to retire to Carlisle, or Berwick, with such forces as would accom-
pany him.* The news of the sailing of the expedition, created a panic in

• Alluding to the appearance of the Frendi fleet in the Frith, Locktiart sa3S, " It J9
impossible to describe the ditferent appearance of people's sentiments; all this day
(23d March) generally speaking, in every person's face Nvas to be observed an air of
jollity and satisfaction, excepting the general, (Leven) those concerned in tlie govenimeni,
and such as were deeply dipt in the revolution. These indeed were in the greatest terror
and confusion. And it was no grsat wonder that the earl of Leven did afterwards, in
one of his letters to the secretaries of state, complain that the Jacobites were so uppisli
he durst hardly look them in the face as they walked in the streets of Edinburgh ; for
uppish they were indeed, expecting soon to have an occasion of repa)ing him and his
fellow-rebels in the same coin he and they had treated them for these twenty years past.
But next day advice was sent from Sir George Bjng, that he had come up with and was
then in puisuit of the French fleet, and then it was tliat every body was in the greatest
pain and anxiety imaginable ; some fearing it would, and others that it would mit, de-
Itrmine as it did. In this perplexity were people when, on the next day, being Sunday,
a great number of tall ships were seen sailing up the Frith. This put our general in

ARRESTS OP JACOBITES IN SCOTLAND. 251

England, which was followed by a run upon the bank, which would have
biH'U obliged to have suspended its payments had not the most extraordi-
nary exertions been made to support its credit.

The principal friends of tlie Chevalier de St George, and every person
of any distinction in Scotland, suspected of favouring his pretensions,
were, upon the failure of the expedition, immediately seized and com-
mitted to the castles of Edinburgh and Stirling, and the common jails,
whence many of them were transmitted to England, and imprisoned in
the Tower of London, or in Newgate. Among those who were carried
to London, was the duke of Hamilton, who, taking advantage of a quarrel
between the Lord-treasurer Godolphin, and the Whigs, obtained, bj'
offernig his support to the latter in the election of the Scottish repre-
sentative peers, not only his own liberation, but also that of all the other
prisoners, with the exception of Stirling of Kier, Seaton of Touch,
Stirling of Garden, and other gentlemen of Stirlingshire, who, on re-
ceiving intelligence that the Chevalier had landed, had mounted their
horses and advanced in a body towards Edinburgh, to support him.
These last were brought to trial for high treason, as having appeared in
arms against the government ; but as no proof was brought against
them, they were acquitted.* The fact is, that the queen's advisers,
fully aware of the great danger which the government had escaped,
and the risks to which it was still exposed, were disposed to act a very
lenient part, and were afraid, under existing circumstances, to commit
themselves by sacrificing any of the disatfected to a doubtful, and, as it
must have appeared to them, a precarious expediency.

For a time, the idea of a restoration seems to have been abandoned ;
but the systematic attacks made by the High Church party in England,
upon the principles of the revolution, and the popular excitement raised
against the Whig rainistrj' in consequence of Dr Sacheverel's trial, raised
anew the expectations of the Jacobites, which were still farther elevated
by the expulsion of the Whigs from office in seventeen hundred and
ten, by the intrigues of the Tories. Although the queen on opening
the new parliament, which met on the twenty-fifth of November, dc-

sdch a terror and confusion as can scarcely be well expressed : he drew up his army in
batile array on the sands of Leith, as if he'd oppose a landing, and in this posture did he
remain for several hours, when at last his fears, which truly had almost distracted him,
vanished by the landing of a boat, which acquainted him that it was the English fleet I'e-
tur-ned from chasing the French. For Sir George Byng, after a day's pursuit, finding
tlie French out-sailed him, lackt about for the Frilh, which ivas the place he designed
chiefly to guard ; besides, he had sniled so unprovided that most of his ships wanted
water and provisions. Here he l.iy several weelis, and for the most part the wind was
easterly, so that he could not well have sailed down the Frilh, and the Fiench might
and every body believed would, have landed in the north, or sailed round and landed in
the west ; but inslend of that lliey went sneakingly home, without doing any good, but on
itrary, mucli harm to the king, his country and them'^elves."— Vol. I. pp. 2i3,

214

Lurkhart.

262 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

clared to both houses that she would employ such persons only as
were warmly attached to the protestant succession in the house of
Hanover; yet it was generally understood that she was inclined to
favour the pretensions of her brother, the Chevalier de St George.
As his religion was, in fact, the only bar in the way of his successiin,
she endeavoured, but without success, to induce him to abandon it.
" You see (she observed to the duke of Buckingham, when speaking of
her brother,) he docs not take the least step to oblige me. I have no
reason to think he values me or my kingdom, therefore I shall give it to
the Elector of Hanover." On another occasion, when warmly pressed
by the duke, she replied, "What would you have me to do? You
know, as the law stands, a Papist cannot inherit the crown, and, there-
fore, any will I may make will be to no purpose ; the law gives all to
Hanover ; and therefore I had better do that with a good grace which
I cannot help. He may thank himself for it. He knows I always
loved him better than the Elector."* The Tories were by no means
averse to her majesty's views of a successor, but afraid of a reaction
in public opinion in favour of the Whigs, who were endeavouring to
excite the fears of the nation by raising a no-popery cry, they not only
carefully abstained from any act which might be considered as favour-
ing the claims of " the Pretender;" but even appeared as if hostile to
thera. Indeed, so desirous were some of the Tory members of the
house of commons to settle the crown upon his head, that they required
a mere profession of Protestantism from him, till he should be firmly
seated on the throne, after which he might, they said, again resume the
exercise and profession of his religion. But the prince disdained to act
such a hypocritical part.f

In Scotland, however, little reserve was shown, a remarkable instance
of which occurred in the Faculty of Advocates, which body accepted from
the dutchess of Gordon a silver medal, having on one side an impression
of the head of the Chevalier de St George, and on the reverse a repre-
sentation of the British islands, with the motto, " Reddite." At presenting
this treasonable device, a motion thanking her grace for her gift was car-
ried, after a warm debate, by a majority of sixty-three voices against

• Stuart Papers, July, 1712. Vol. ii. p. 327.
+ Alluding to the prince's refusal to concur in this unprincipled design, Lord John
Russell, {Memoirs of the affairs of Earope from the Peace of Utrecht, Vol. i. p. 261.) ob-
serves, " 1 confess 1 thinit his decision does him honour. A person who is indifferent to
religion may change his outward faith without much diminution of his honesty, but he
who is thoroughly persuaded of the doctrines of his belief, ought not to renounce them for
any worldly interest. Any sacrifice of Slate policy may be complied with out of re-
spect to the opinions of others; but a change of profession on the most important of all
subjects, cannot be made by a sincere believer in his faith, without a conscious postpone-
ment of his eternal welfare to his temporal advantage. And mankind will naturally
argue, that he who would sell his soul for a great interest, will forfeit his word and hon.
our for a small one.*'t

t See a letter from tlie Prince, MaiplierBOn, Vol. ii. p. iai.

DEATH OF OUEEN ANNE. 258

twelve. Dundas of Arniston, to whom the task oiconveying tlie vote was
intrusted, thanki'd her grace for having presented the Faculty with a
medal of their sovereign, and stated a iiope tliat she would very soon
be enabled to present them with a second medal struck upon the resto.
ration of the king and royal fomily, and the finishing of usurpation,
rebellion, and whiggery. This proceeding created an extraordi-
nary sensation, and Sir David Dalryniple, the lord advocate, was
directed by the ministry to inquire into the matter. The Faculty grew
alarmed, disclaimed tlie conduct of Dundas and of Home, another
member with whom tluy alleged the transaction originated, and by a
solemn resolution declared tlieir attachment to the queen and the pro-
testant succession. To satisfy, in some measure, the court of Hanover,
the resident of which at the British court had presented a memorial to
the queen desiring that Dundas and his party might be prosecuted,
the lord advocate was dismissed from office, because he had been re-
miss in bringing the delinquents to justice ; but no instructions were
given to his successor to prosecute them.

The remaining years of Queen Anne's reign were chiefly occupied
with party struggles which embittered her existence and impaired her con-
stitution. The Tories disunited among themselves, split latterly into two
factions, which were respectively headed by Harley, carl of Oxiord, and
Henry St John, Lord Viscount Bolingbroke. The Whigs, on the other
hand, united, active and vigorous, pressed hard upon them, and em-
ployed every art to inflame the people against the authors of their dis-
grace. Popeiy and the Pretender were the never-ceasing topics with
which they endeavoured to enlist the feelings of the nation in their fa-
vour, and the duke of Argyle, in a warm debate which took place in
the house of peers on a question proposed by the earl of Wharton,
" Whether the protestant succession was in danger under the present
administration ?" offered to prove that the lord-treasurer had remitted
a s\im of money annually to the Highland Jacobite chiefs. Oxford
did not deny the charge, but defended himself by saying, that he
had only adopted the policy of King William, who had granted yearly
pensions to the heads of the clans, the better to secure their obe-
dience to the government. The fate of the Tory ministry was at
length sealed by the removal of Oxford and the death of the queeni
who survived that event only a few days. Fatigued by a long attend-
ance at a cabinet council held immediately after the dismissal of the
lord-treasurer, she was thrown into a lethargic disorder, which termi-
nated her existence on the morning of the first of August, seventeen
hundred and fourteen, in the fiftieth year of her age, and in the
thirteenth of her reign. With the exception of her dereliction of duty
towards her father, which, from the circumstances in which she was
placed, may admit of some slight palliation, she left behind her an un-

254

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

blcmislied reputation, and though not possessed of much genius or
vigour of mind, she wielded the sceptre with greater skill than is usually
to be found in sovereigns, who, like her, have allowed themselves to be
fontrolled bv favouritt>s.

KILCIIUKN CASTLE.

CHAPTER XII.

Proceedings of tlie Whig ministry — Declanttion of tlie Ciievalier de St George — Meet-
ing of tlie Parliament— Arrival of George 1. in EiLgland— Conduct of the earl o(
Mar — Neiv Parliament assembled — Intrigues of the Jacobites — Character of the ear]
of liar — Departs from England to erect the standard of revolt in Scotland — Sum-
mons a meeting of the Jacobites under the pretence of a hunting-match — Addresses
the meeting, and informs them of his designs — Principal Jacobite chiefs summoned
to appear at Edinburgh — The Chevalier de St George proclaimed by iVlar, who raises
the standard of revolt in Braemar — Sends a circular letter to the gentlemen of Perlli-
shire — Issues a declaration — Letter b)' Mar to the btiilie of Kildruminy — Death of
Louis XIV. — Manifesto of the Jacobite chiefs.

The dismissal of the earl of Oxford, from tlie office of lord-high-trea-
surer, was gratifying to the Jacobites, whose expectations he had dis-
appointed, and they naturally waited with anxiety for the appointment of
his successor, whom they confidently imagined would be Boliiigbroke, his
rival, who was supposed, on juster grounds, to favour their views, and
to whom they had transferred their confidence. But all their hopes
were disappointed by the promotion of the duke of Shrew.sbury to the
treasury, a nobleman distinguislied for modesty and disinterestedness,
and a devoted attachment to his country. This appointment was owing
to the determined conduct of the dukes of Somerset and Argyle, who,
sn hearing of the dangerous state of the queen, and that the committee
of the council were assembled at Kensington on the thirtieth of July,
had repaired to the palace and entered the council chamber without being
sunmioned. Their unexpected presence excited some surprise, parti-
cularly in Bolingbioke ; but on the invitation of the duke of Shrews-
bury, who thanked them for their attendance at such a critical junc-
ture, they took their places at the council board. The meeting, thereupon,
unanimously agreed to recommend Shrewsbury to the queen as the
fittest person to fill the oHice of lord-treasurer, and she accordingly
presented liim with the white staff and requested him, at same time, to
retain the staff of lord-chamberlain, which he offered to return.

To counteract still fartiier the schemes of Bolingbioke, all the privy
counsellors in London, or the neighbourhood, had been invited, on the
proposal of Somerset and Argyle, to attend the council without distinction
of party, in consequence of which. Lord Somers, and many other Whig
noblemen, repaired to Kensington. The presence of such a number o'

256 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

the Whigs completely overawed the Tories, who, confused, distracted, and
disunited, were either unable or afraid to oppose the measures proposed
by the former for eft'ectually securing tlie protestant succession, and gave a
tacit acquiescence to them. Every precaution, in short, had been taken to
prevent any movement of the Jacobite party in favour of the Clievaiier
and an express was sent to the elector of Hanover, informing him tliat
the physicians despaired of the queen's life, and desiring him to repair
to England, with all convenient speed.

As soon as the death of the queen was announced, the lords of the
privy council met, and drew up and issued a proclamation the same
day, declaring that by the death of Queen Anne, the imperial crowns of
Great Britain, France, and Ireland, had " solely and rightfully come to
the High and Mighty Prince George, Elector of Brunswick, Lunen-
burg," in consequence of which, the prince was immediately proclaimed
in London, by the heralds at arms, with the usual solemnities, and on
Thursday the iifth of August, the same ceremony was repeated at the
market cross of Edinburgh, by the deputy-lord-lyon, king at arms,
in presence of the magistrates and town council of the city, the judges
of the supreme courts, a considerable number of the nobility, and a
large eissemblage of the inhabitants. The Jacobites preserved a pru-
dent silence on this occasion, but the supporters of the government at
Edinburgh, took care, notwithstanding, to provide against any
contingency. They, accordingly, cut off a part of the wooden bridge
before the castle gate, and drew up the remaining part to cover the
gate itself. They also threw up an intrenchnient between the gate and
the castle wall, on which they posted a party of armed soldiers. In
addition to these precautions, IMajor-general Wightman, the commander
of the forces, ordered the different detachments quartered at Dundee,
and other places, to join his camp in the vicinity of Edinburgh, with
which order they immediately complied.*

Pursuant to an act of the late reign, the parliament met on the day
the queen died. The first four days were occupied in swearing in the
members, and on the fifth of August, the parliament was opened by the
lord chancellor, in name of the lords justices, on whom the interim ad-
ministration of the government had devolved by an act of the fourth and
fifth of Queen Anne. Both houses thereafter voted loyal addresses
to his majesty, in which, after congratulating him upon his accession to
the throne, they expressed their anxiety for his safe and speedy arrival
in Great Britain. To these addresses, his majesty returned most gra-
cious answers, which were reported to both houses on the t«enty-fif'th
of August, on which day the parliament was prorogued till the twenty-
third day of September.

When the Chevalier de St George heard of the death of his sister,
Queen Anne, he set off from his residence in Lorraine, to Paris, to,

• lUe's Hisloo of llio late Rebellion, Oumfries, 1718. p. dS.

TECLARATION OF THE CHEVALIER DE ST OEORGK 257

crave the aid of the king of France, in vindication of his hereditary
rights ; but Louis declined to interfere, on tlie ground tliat lie had, by
the treaty of Utrecht, acknowledged the pi-otestant succession. Dis
appointed in his application, he retired first to Luneville, and afterwards
to Plouibieres, whence on the twenty-nintli of August, he issued a de-
claration as King James the Third, asserting his indefeasible right to the
crowns of Great Britain and Ireland, and solemnly protesting against
every act that had been already done, or that sliould thereafter be done
to the prejudice of his hereditary rights. In this declaration, he refers
to a previous one which he issued on the eightli of October, seventeen
hundred and four, after the death of King William, and to a protest
dated from St Germains, on the twenty-fifth of April, seventeen hun-
dred and twelve, when he found that a treaty of peace was about being
concluded without any regard to him, in which protest he also maintained
his right to the said crowns, and protested against whatever might be sti-
pulated in the proposed treaty to his prejudice. He says, that although he
had been obliged by the treaty to remove from France, that he had still
continued to have his kingdoms and his people in view, and that he had
never ceased to hope, that God would in time open his people's eyes,
and convince them not only of the notorious injustice done to the crown
and him, but of the dangerous consequences thereof for themselves; and
that as he could not see, without grief and sorrow, their blood and trea-
sure lavished in the late war, in opposition to his rights, so he could not
now with less sorrow, see them exposed to be subjected to an arbitra-
ry power, and become a prey to foreigners — that the settlement of the
succession upon one who was so far removed from the regular line,
was opposed to the maxims of the English constitution — that the
elector of Brunswick was, besides, a foreigner, a powerful prince,
and absolute in his own country — that he was ignorant of the laws,
manners, customs, and language, and supported by a good many of his
own people — that there had been many thousands of aliens domiciled in
England, for the last thirty years, who would be ready to stand by him
upon all occasions — that the subversion of such a sacred and fundamen-
tal principle as hereditary right, would lead to endless wars and divi-
sions, and that as there were many other princes, who had better pre-
tensions to the crown than the elector of Brunswick, the nation could
never enjoy any lasting peace or happiness, till the succession was again
settled " in the rightful line."*

Meanwhile, certain movements in Scotland, among the friends of the
Chevalier, indicated to the government that an insurrection was in-
tended. Bodies of armed men were seen marching towards the High-
lands, and a party of Highlanders appeared in arms near Inverlochy,
which was, however, soon dispersed by a detachment from the garrison.
In this situation of matters, the lords justices sent down to Scotland a

• CuUoden Papers, p\i. 30, 31.
II. 2 K

258

HISTOBl OF THE HIGHLANDS.

considerable number of half pay officer!?, chiefly of the Scots regiments,
lo officer the militia of the country, under tlie direction of Major-
general Whifham, then commander-in-chief in Scotland. These prompt
measures taken by the government, alarmed the Jacobites, who, after
several consultations, retired to their homes. The duke of Gordon
was, by order of the justices, confined in the citj' of Edinburgh, and the
marquis of Huntly, and Lord Drummond, in their respective residences
of Brahen, and castle Drummond. The last, on hearing that an ordei
for his seizure had arrived, fled to the Highlands, but offered bail for
his good behaviour. At the same time. Captain Campbell of Glen-
darnel, who had obtained a commission from the late Tory adminis-
tration, to raise an independent company in the Highlands, was appre-
hended at Inverlochy, and carried prisoner to the capital, and Sir
Donald M'Donald of Slait, was also seized and committed to the castle
of Edinburgh.* As the lords justices had received information that the
Chevalier intended to land in the kingdom, they, on the fifteenth of
September, issued a proclamation, in terms of an act passed in the last
session of parliament, offering a reward of one hundred thousand
pounds sterling for his apprehension, should he land or attempt to land
in Great Britain.t

King George, after vesting the government of his German dominions
in a council, embarked at Orange Polder for England on the sixteenth
day of September, and landed at Greenwich on the eighteenth, where
he was received by the duke of Northumberland, captain of the
life-guards, and by the lords justices, and a large number of the no-
bility and other persons of distinction. Among those who present-
ed themselves on this occasion was the earl of Mar, one of the se-
cretaries of state, but the king had been so prepossessed against
this nobleman, and indeed against all the heads of tlie Tory party, that
he did not vouchsafe even to notice him. The earl suspecting that
means had been used to prejudice his majestj' against him, had, in order
to take off" any unfavourable impression which these might have produced
upon the king's mind, written a letter to George when in Holland on
his way to England, congratulating hira upon his accession to the
throne, stating the services which he had rendered to the government,
and assuring his majesty that he should find him as faithful and dutiful
a subject and servant as ever any of his family, which had been always
loyal, had been to the crown, or as he had been to his late mistress,
the queen.:j: With the same view, it is supposed, or to throw the go-

• Rae, p. 77. t Gazette, 25tli September, 1714.

} The following is a copy of the original letter as published by Sir Richard Steele :—

"Sir,

" Having the happiness to be your majesty's subject, and also the honour of
being one of your servants, as one of your secretaries of state, I beg leave to kiss
your majesty's hand, and congratulate your happy accession to the tlirone, which I would
done myself the honour of doing sooner, had I not hoped to have had the honour of
doint( it personally ere now.

IMPOLITIC CONDUCT OF GEORGE V 259

vemment off its guard, Mar caused a letter to be addressed to him by
some of the heads and branches of the Jacobite clans expressive of
their loyalty to King George, and declaring, that as they had been
always ready to follow his lonlship*s directions in serving Queen Anne,
they were equally ready to concur with him in faithfully serving his
majesty.* But the prejudices of the king against Mar were too deeply
rooted to be overcome, and within eight days after the king's arrival in

1 am afraid I may have had the misfortune of being misrepresented to yimr majesty,
and my reason for thinking so is, because I was, I believe, the only one of the late queen's
servants whom your ministers here did not visit, which I mentiunud to Mr Harley and
the earl of Clarendon, when they went from hence to wait on your majesty ; and your
ministers carrying so to me, was the occasion of my receiving such orders as deprived me
of the honour and satisfaction of waiting on them and being known to them,

I suppose I had been misrepresented to them by some here upon account of party, or
to ingratiate tliemst-lves by aspersing others, as our parties here too often occasion; but
I hope your majesty will be so just as not to give credit to such misrepresentations.

The part I acted in the bringing about and making of the Union, when the succession to
the crown was settled for Scotland on your majesty's family, when I had the honour to
serve as secretary of state for that kingdom, doth, I hope, put my sincerity and faithful-
ness to your majesty out of dispute.

My family have had the honour, for a great tract of years, to be faithful servants to the
crown, and have had the care of the king's children, (when kings of Scotland) inlrusted
to them. A predecessor of mine was honoured with the care of your majesty's grand-
mother when young, and she wjis pleased afterwards to express some concern for our
family in letters, which I still have under her own hand.

I had tlie honour to serve her late majesiy in one capacity or other ever since her ac-
ces!.ion to the cruwn. I was happy in a good mistress, and she was pleased to have
some confidence in me, and regard for my services ; and since your majesty's happy
accession to the crown, I hope \ou will find that I have not been wanting in my duty in
being instrumental in keeping things quiet and peaceable in the country to which I belong
and have some interest in.

Your majesty shall ever find me as faithful and dutiful a subject and servant as ever
any of my family have been to the crown, or as 1 have been to my late mistress, the
queen. And 1 beg jour majesty may be so good not to believe any misrepresentations
of me, which notliing but party-hatred, and my zeal for the interest of the crown, doth
occasion; and I hope 1 may piesume to lay claim to your royal favour and protection.

As your accession to the cro\vn hath been quiet and peaceable, may your majesty's
reign be long and prosperous; and that your people may soon have the happiness and sa-
tisfaction of } our presence among them, is the earnest and fervent wishes of him who is,
with the humblest duty and respect.

Sir,
Your miiji'sty's most faiihful, most dutiful, and
luust obedient subject and servant.

Mar."
Whitehall, Aug. 30, 0. S. 1714."

♦ This document, which was signed by the chief of Maclean, Macdonell of Glengarry,
Cameron of Lochiel, Macdonell of Keppoch, Sir Donald Macdonald, Mackintosh
of Mackintosh, Mackenzie of Fraserdale, M*Leod of Contulick, Grant of Glenmoris-
ton, Chisholm of Comer, and M'Pherson of Cluny, is as follows: —

" M} Lord,

" So soon as we heard of the afllicting news of the death of her late
majesty. Queen Anne, it did exceedingly comfort us, that, after so good and great a
queen, who had the hearts and consulted tbe true happiness of all her people, we were tn
be governed by his sacred majesty, King George, a prince so brightly adorned with .lU
royal virtues, tliat Britain, under his royal administration, shall stiil be flourishing at

SCO HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

England, Mar was dismissed from office, and the duke of Montrose ap-
pointed in his stead. It was very natural for the king to prefer the
Whig party, by whose influence he had been raised to the throne ;
but unfortunately for the nation, he carried this predilection too far
A wise and prudent prince would have endeavoured to conciliate the
adverse faction by acts of kindness, but George turned his back upon
the entire body of the Tories, and threw himself completely into the
arms of tlie Whigs, who alone sliared in the royal favour, and who
used every art to confirm their own interest, and extend their connexions.
The consequence was, that a spirit of the most violent discontent was
excited tliroughout the whole kingdom, and the populace, led on by the
Tories or Jacobites, raised tumults in different parts of the kingdom.
The Chevalier de St George availing himself of this excitement, trans-
mitted by the French mail copies of the manifesto, or declaration,
which he had issued from Plombieres to the chief nobility, particularly
the dukes of Shrewsbury, Marlborough, and Argyle, who delivered
them to the secretaries of state. The king, imagining that the duke of
Lorraine was privy to the preparation and transmission of the manifesto,
refused an audience to the Marquis de Lamberti, minister from the
duke ; but although the duke, on being informed by his minister of
the circumstance, denied most pointedly that he was accessory to the
alFair, and declared that the Chevalier took up his residence in Loi--
raine by the directions of the king of France ; the king persisted in re-
fusing an audience to De Lamberti till his master should remove the
Chevalier from his dominions.

home, and able to hold the balance in the affairs of Europe.* Allow us, my Lord, to
please ourselves with this agreeable persuasion, that his majesty's ro\ a! and kindly influence
shall reach to us, who are the most remote, as well as to others of his subjects in this island.
We are not ignorant that there are some people forward to misrepresent us, from parti,
cular private views of their oami, and who, to reach their own ends against us, on all
occasions, endeavour to make us, in the Highlands of Scotland, pass for disaffected
persons.

Your lordship has an estate and interest in the Highlands, and is so well known to
bear good will to your neighbours, that in order to prevent any ill impressions which ma-
licious and ill-designing people may at this juncture labour to give of us, we must beg
leave to address your lordship, and entreat you to assure the government, in our names,
and in that of the rest of the clans, who, by distance of place, could not be present at
the signing of this letter, of our loyalty to his sacred majesty. King George. And we
do hereby declare to your lordship, that as we were always ready to follow your directions
in serving Queen Anne, so we will now be eiiually forward to concur mth your lordship
in faiUifully serving King George. .\nd we entreat your lordship would advise us how
we may best offer our duty to his majesty upon his coming over to Britain; and on all
occasions we will beg to receive your counsel and direction how we may be most useful
tu his royal government.

We are, with all truth and respect," &c.

■ There 13 tittle difficulty in perceiving, by comparing this letter wilti tli:it written by Mar to the
king, tliat it is the production of Mar himself, though said to be drawn up by hia brotlier. Lord
Uraiige. *' The bataiice in the affairs of Europe," an expression since changed into that of tlie
•* balance of power," is a phrase wliich coufd have occurred only to a secretary of state. What
calamities have been indicted upon Europe since the sway of the Grand Monarqtie in attempts !•
ftitJUBt " ttiis balance," and yet the scales vibrate as much as ever f

PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES OF THE GOVERNMENT. 2$l

The parliament having been dissolved, the king, in the month of Ja-
nuary, sevi'iitccn hundred and fifteen, issued an extraordinary prochinia-
tion, calling a new parliament in which proclamation he complained of the
evil designs of the disaffected, and of the misrepresentation of his principles
and conduct, which had been industriously circulated throughout the
kingdom, and expressed his hopes that his loving subjects would send
up to parliament the fittest persons to redress the present disorders, and
to provide for the peace and happiness of the kingdoms, and ease of the
people for the future, and therein would have a particular regard to such
"as showed a firmness to the protestant succession when it was in
danger." In order to secure the interest of those in civil and military
employments in the elections, a proclamation was issued on the same
day, continuing all persons who had been duly invested in their offices,
civil or military, before the demise of the queen, and who had not been
since removed therefrom, for the space of six months from the date of
the proclamation, unless his majesty should see cause to remove them
sooner. A warmly contested election followed in England, but although
the Tories made every exertion, and set up the usual shout of the church
in danger, a cry which was responded to by the populace in many
places, a majority of Whigs was returned. The Whigs were still more
successful in Scotland, where a majority of the sixteen peers, and forty
out of forty-five members returned to the commons, were in the interest
of the government. The principal struggle in Scotland was in Inver-
ness-shire, between M'Kenzie of Preston-hall, who was supported by
Glengarry and the other Jacobite chiefs, and Forbes of Culloden,
brother of the celebrated President Forbes, who carried the election by
the interest of Brigadier-General Grant, and the friends of Lord
Lovat.

The new parliament assembled on the nineteenth day of March at
W^estminster, and was for some time chiefly occupied in investigating the
conduct of the late ministers, against some of whom measures of extreme
rigour were resolved upon ; but these proceedings were interrupted by
the necessity of devising means for the suppression of a growing
spirit of discontent and disaffection, which seemed to gain ground daily
in England, of which an insurrection in Scotland, and an invasion from
abroad, seemed about to ensue as inevitable results. To put an end to
future rioting, a bill was passed, by which it was declared, that if any
persons, to the number of twelve, riotously, tumultuously, and unlawfully
assembled, should continue together for an hour after having been
required to disperse by a justice of peace or other officer, by procla-
mation being publicly read, — and of which a form was given in the act,
they should be guilty of felony, without benefit of clergy. When the
king attended in the house of lords on the thirteenth of July, to give
his assent to this and other bills, he informed both houses, that a rebel-
lion had actually begun at home, and that an invasion was threatened
from abroad, and he, therefore, solicited the commons to enable him to

262 HISTORY OF THE HIOHLANDS.

provide for the defence of the kingdom. The preparations ol tne Che-
valier de St George for a descent upon Great Britain, were indeed al-
ready far advanced. Elated by the intelligence which had been sent
him from England by the Tories, of the disaffection of the people to
the government, and by the promises of support which he had received
from them, should he land in Great Britain, tlie prince had applied a
second time to Louis for succour, who, notwithstanding the treaty of
Utrecht, supplied him privately with money, and allowed a ship to be
fitted out for him, at his own expense, in the port of Havre.* The cause
of the Chevalier had now been openly espoused by the duke of Ormond
and Lord Bolingbroke, both of whom having retired to France, had
been attainted by the British parliament without a hearing, and were
busily employed corresponding with the Tories of England. These in-
trigues and preparations were early discovered by the earl of Stair, the
British ambassador at Paris, and comnmnicated by him to the ministry.
Proceeding upon this information, the parliament suspended the Habeas
Corpus act, and offered a reward of one hundred thousand pounds to
any person or persons who should seize the Pretender, dead or alive.
Great naval and military preparations were made, and the trained bands
were kept in readiness to suppress tumults.

As early as May, a report was current among the Jacobites of Scotland
of the Chevalier's design to make a descent, in consequence of which
they began to bestir themselves, by providing arms, horses, &c. Lockhart
of Carnwath, a very w arm partizan of the Chevalier, went to Edinburgh
in August, where he met Mr Walkinshaw of Barronfitld, who informed
him that he had been sent to Edinburgh by some of the Chevalier's friends
in Stirlingshire and other places, to obtain and bring th( m intelligence of
the state of afiairs, and what was intended to be done, that they might
concert measures accordingly. Lockhart also learnt that a gentleman
of the name of Paterson had just arrived from London, with an express
from the earl of Mar to Captain Straton, who had been sent over to
France by the Jacobites in seventeen hundred and five. Walkinshaw
and Lockhart repeatedly applied to Straton for an interview, but he
declined to see them ; but having met with Mr Hall, a Catholic
priest, who showed them a letter he had received the same day by post
from Father Innes at Paris, which threw no light on the Chevalier's
motions, they separated, and Lockhart returned home to Dryden
house, in the county of Edinburgh. While " solacing" himself, as he
says, with the expectation of hearing " great and good news," his house
was surrounded about four days thereafter, at three o'clock in the morn-
ing, by a strong detachment of Lord Shannon's regiment of foot, which
carried him prisoner to the castle of Edinburgh, by virtue of a
warrant " under the Elector of Hanover's own hand." The appre-

• Buliiigbroke's Letter to Sir Win. Wyiidliam, desen-edly nicntioiitd us "one of ibu
best written wo.-ks in the English language."

CHARACTER OF THE EARL OF MAR. 263

hcnsion of Lockhart served as a signal to the other Jacobites in Scot-
laiiii, against wliom warrants were issued, al! of whom escaped, with the
exception of the earls of Hume and Wigton, who were taken up, and
also committed prisoners to the castle.*

Of John Erskine, the eleventh earl of Mai, tlie ciiief leader in the
ensuing insurrection, it may now be proper to say a few words. Fol-
lowing the footsteps of his father, who joined the revolution party,
merely because he considered it his interest so to do ; the young earl,
on entering into public life, attached himself to the party then in power,
at the head of which was tlie duke of Queensberry, the leader of the
Scottish Whigs. He took the oaths and his seat in Parliament in
September, sixteen hundred and ninety-six, sworn in a privy coun-'
cillor the following year, and was afterwards appointed to the com-
mand of a regiment of foot, and invested with the order of the Thistle.
In seventeen hundred and four, when the Whigs were superseded by
the country party, the earl, pursuant to the line of conduct he in-
tended to follow, of making his politics subservient to his interest,
immediately paid court to the new administration, by placing himself
at the head of such of the duke of Queensberry 's friends as opposed
the marquis of Twteddale and his party. In this situation he showed
so much dexterity, and managed his opposition with so much art
and address, that he was considered by the Tories as a man of pro-
bity, and well inclined to the exiled family. Afterwards, when the
Whig party came again into power, he gave them his support, and be-
came very zealous in promoting all the measures of the court, particularly
the treaty of union, for which he presented the draught of an act iu
parliament, in seventeen hundred and five. To reward his exertions, he
was, after the prorogation of the parliament, appointed secretary of state
for Scotland, instead of the marquis of Annandale, who was displaced,
because he was suspected of holding a correspondence witli the Squad-
ron, who were inclined to support the succession to the crown without,
rather than with the proposed union. His lordship was chosen one of
the sixteen representative peers in seventeen hundred and seven, and
re-elected at the general election the following year, and in seventeen
hundred and ten, and thirteen. By the share he had taken in bring-
ing about the union, Mar had rendered himself very unpopular in
Scotland ; but he endeavoured to regain the favour of his country-
men, by attending a deputation of Scottish members, consisting of the
duke of Argyle, himself, Cockburn, younger of Ormiston, and Lockhart
of Carnwath, which waited on queen Anne in seventeen hundred and
twelve, to inform her of their resolution to move for a repeal of the union
with England. When the earl of Findlater brought forward a motion
for repeal in the house of lords. Mar spoke strongly in favour of it, and
pressed the dissolution of the union as the only means to preserve the

• Lockhart Papers, Vol. I. p. 483—4.

264 HISTOUY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

peace of the island.* He was made a privy-couneillor in seventeen
hundred and eight, and on the death of the duke of Queensberry in
seventeen hundred and thirteen, the earl was again appointed secretary
of state for Scotland, and thus, for the second time, enlisted himself
under the banners of Toryism, but an end was put to his political ter-
giversation by his abrupt and unceremonious dismissal from office by
George I., and he vowed revenge.

Though not possessed of shining talents, he made ample amends
for their deficiencies by artifice and an insinuating and courteous
deportment, and managed his designs with such prudence and cir-
cumspection as to render it extremely difficult to ascertain his object
when he desired concealment ; by which conduct " he showed him-
self,'' in the opinion of a contemporary, " to be a man of good sense,
but bad morals."-)- The versatility of his politics was perhaps owing
rather to the peculiar circumstances in which he was placed than to any
innate viciousness of disposition. He was a Jacobite from principle,
but as the fortunes of his house had been greatly impaired in the
civil war by its attachment to the Stuarts, and, as upon liis entrance
into public life, he found tlie cause of the exiled family at a low ebb,
he sought to retrieve the losses which his ancestors had sustained ;
while, at the same time, he gratified his ambition, by aspiring to power,
which he could only hope to acquire by attaching himself to the exist-
ing government. The loss of a place of five thousand pounds a-year,
without any chance of ever again enjoying the sweets of office, was
gall and wormwood to such a man. This disappointment, and the
studied insult he had received from the king, operating upon a sel-
fish and ambitious spirit, drove him into open rebellion, with no
other view than the gratification of his revenge. But whatever were
his qualifications in the cabinet, he was without military experience,
and consequently unfit to command an army, as the result has
shown.

On the eve of Mar's departure from England to place himself
at the head of the intended insurrection in Scotland, he resolved
to show himself at court ; and, accordingly, he appeared in the pre-
sence of King George on the first of August, with all the complaisance
of a courtier, and w ith that affability of demeanour for which he was
so distinguished. What his motives were for thus needlessly laying
himself open to the charge of studied duplicity by confronting a so-
vereign whose throne he was about to attempt to overturn, it is dif-
ficult to conjecture. Was it to solace his offended pride, or to show
the world the hardihood of his determination to unfurl the standard of
revolt, that he had the cool daring in presence of the nobles of the land,
to look in the face the man against whom he had inwardly vowed to
wage war? Or was his object, in thus appearing as if no treasonable

• Lockhiirt, Vul. L p. iSti. t Ibid.

MEETING OF THK JACOBITES AT ABOYNE. 265

design could be in his contemplation, intended as a feint to deceive the
court and lull suspicion, so as to enable liim the more effectually to
conceal the preparations he had made for his intended departure ?
These are questions of which, in the absence of all evidence, no solu-
tion can be attempted ; but all, or each of them, may be fairly answered
in the affirmative, as being in perfect conformity with the earl's cha-
racter.

Having disguised himself by changing his usual dress, he embarked
at Gravesend on the second day of August, seventeen hundred and fifteen,
on board a vessel bound for Newcastle, accompanied by Major-General
Hamilton and Colonel Hay, and attended by two servants. On ar-
riving at Newcastle he and his party went on board another vessel
bound for the Frith of Forth, the property of one Spence, and were
landed at Ely, a small port on the Fife coast, near the mouth of the
Frith. During the great civil war, and for many years thereafter, a
landing in Fife in support of the Stuarts would have been a dangerous
attempt, but the opinions of many of the Fife people had, of late, under-
gone a complete revolution ; and, at the time in question, Fife had, as
the Jacobites would have said, many " honest'' men, or, in other
words, persons who were warmly attached to the interests of the exiled
family. From Ely, Mar proceeded to Crail, where he was met by
Sir Alexander Erskine, the Lord Lyon, and other friends of the Ja-
cobite interest, who accompanied him to the house of " the Honest
Laird," a name bj' which John Bethune of Balfour, a staunch Ja-
cobite, was commonly known. After remaining a few days in Fife,
Mar paid a visit to his brother-in-law, the earl of Kinnoull, at his seat
of Dupplin in the county of Perth, whence he departed on Thursday
the eighteenth of August, and crossed the Tay about two miles below
Perth, with forty horse, on his way to his seat of Kildrummy, in the
Braes of Mar. On the following day he despatched letters to the prin-
cipal Jacobites, inviting them to attend a grand huntiiig-match at
Braemar, on the twenty-seventh of August. As the government was
on the alert, and watched very narrowly any unusual assemblages, the
Jacobites had frequently before had recourse to this and similar expe-
dients to enable them to concert their measures without exciting the sus-
picion of the government.*

That the earl had matured his plans before coming to Scotland,
and that the Ja^'obites were let into the secret of his designs, is evi-
dent from the fact that, as early as the sixth of August, those in Edin-
burgh and the neighbourhood were aware of his intention to come down
to Scotland. On the following morning the Honourable John Dalzel,
a captain on half pay, sent in a resignation of his commission to the
earl of Orkney, that he might join with greater freedom the standard
of the earl, and set off immediately to Elliock, the residence of his

• Rae, 133. Annals of King George, year the second. London. I7I7, p. 25.
!I. 2 L

S66

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

orother, the earl of Carnwath, to apprize him of Mar's expected ar-
rival. Dalzcl reached Elliock at night, and next morning expresses
Were sent by the earl to the earl of Nithsdale, the Viscount Kenmure,
and the other Jacobite chiefs in the southern and western parts of Scot-
land, communicating the same information. The earl of Carnwath
went from Elliock the same day to meet his friends, and, after spend-
ing some time together, concerting measures and sounding the inclina-
tions of the people, they repaired to Lothian, giving out as they went
along, that tliey were going to attend a hunt in the north.*

Under pretence of attending a hunting-match, a considerable number
of noblemen and gentlemen arrived at Aboyne, in Aberdeenshire,
about the time appointed. Among these were the marquis of Huntly,
eldest son of the duke of Gordon ; the marquis of TuUibardine, eldest
son of the duke of Athole; the earls of Nithsdale, Marischal, Traquair,
Errol, Southesk, Carnwath, Seaforth, Linlithgow, and others ; the
viscounts Kilsyth, Kenmure, Kingston, and Stormont ; the Lords
Rollo, DufFus, Drummond, Strathallan, Ogilvie, and Nairne ; and
about twenty-six gentlemen of influence in the Highlands, among whom
were Generals Hamilton and Gordon, Glengary, Campbell of Glen-
darnel, and the lairds of Auchterhouse and Auldbar.f

After the meeting had assembled, the earl proceeded to address his
friends in a regular and well ordered speech. He began by expressing
his sorrow for having been instrumental in forwarding the union of the
two kingdoms. He informed them that his eyes were now opened, and
that he clearly perceived the error he had committed : that he would
therefore do every thing in his power to make his countrymen again a
free people, and restore to them their ancient liberties which had been
surrendered into the hands of the English by the accursed treaty of union.
That this treaty, which had already done so much injury to Scotland,
was calculated to inflict additional grievances upon it, and that such
were the designs of the English appeared evident by the measures
which had been daily pursued ever since the Elector of Hanover had
ascended the throne. Tliat this Prince regarded neither the welfare of
his people, nor their religion ; but had committed the charge of both
entirely to a set of men who, while they stuck to the protestant succes-
sion, made such alterations in church and state as they thought fit. That
they had already begun to encroach upon the liberties of both, on which
account he had resolved to vindicate their rights by placing the lawful
sovereign, James VHL, who had promised to hear their grievances
and redress their wrongs, upon the throne of his ancestors. He then
informed them of his determination to take up arms in behalf of his
lawful king : that he would summon all the fencible men among hi«
own tenantry, and with them hazard his life in the cause ; and he ex-
horted all those assembled to follow his example. To encourage thera

Rae, p. 1^8.

t Ibid. p. 189. AnnaJs of King George, p. IS, 16.

COMMENCEMENT OF MAr's INSURRECTION. 267

to do SO, he assured them that there would be a general rising in Eng-
land in support of the cause ; that they would receive powerful assist-
ance from France, whither the duke of Orniond and Lord Boliiigbroke
had gone to induce Louis XIV. to aid and assist them with men
and money ; and that tlie duke of Berwick would certainly land in
the West of England with a large force. That there were thousands of
persons throughout the kingdom, who had solemnly pledged themselves
to him, and to one another, to join him in deposing King George, and
establishing James VIIL on the throne. He then informed them that
he had received letters (which he exhibited) under the hand of James
himself, from Lorraine, promising to come over to Scotland and place
his person under the protection of the valour and fidelity of his Scottish
subjects ; and that, in the meantime, ships, provided with arms, am-
munition, and other military stores, would be sent over from France as
socM as a landing port should be fixed upon. He thereupon produced,
or stated that he had in his possession, a commission from Jamts,
appointing him his Lieutenant-general, and commander of all the Jacobitt
forces in Scotland, * and informed the meeting that he was furnished
with money, and that an arrangement had been made by which he
would be enabled to pay regularly the troops that should be raised,
60 that no gentleman who might join his standard, with his followers,
would be put to any expense, and the country would be quite relieved
from the burden of supporting the war. After the earl had finished his
harangue, the meeting unanimously resolved to take up arms in support
of the Chevalier; and after taking an oath of fidelity to the earl as the
representative of James VHL and to each other ; the persons present
took leave of him, and promised to return immediately to their estates
and raise their men, and to hold themselves in readiness to join the earl
on the first summons. To enlist the feelings of the people in favou of
the prince, copies of his manifesto, of which each individual who attended
the meeting obtained a supply from the earl, were industriously circu-
lated throughout the country, and dropt in the streets of the different
towns in Scotland during night.

The government was not inattentive to the proceedings of the Jaco-
bites, and measures were adopted immediately by the Lord Advocate
for securing the chiefs. Under the authority of an act passed on the
thirtieth of August, the following persons were summoned by him to
appear at Edinburgh within certain specified periods, under the pain of a
year's imprisonment and other penalties, to give bail for their allegiance
to the government; namely, the marquis of Huntly, the earls of Seaforth,

• There appears to be a discrepancy Tn the accounts as to this matter. The M sterof
Sinclair says, (MS. in the possession of tlie earl of Rosslyn) that Mar produced a forged
commission, but it would appear from the Journal printed at Paris, (Appendix to Paton's
History, p. 241.) with his own approbatimi, that the meeting was aware that he had no
commission, and the writer of the Journal mentions as "no small proof of the peopli-'s
zeal fur their country, that so (^reat a number followed his advice, and obeyed his orders
before he could produce one."

268 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Winton, Camwath, Southesk, Nithsdale, Linlithgow, Mar, Hume,
Wigton, Kinnoul, Panmure, Marischal, and Breadalbane ; the viscounts
Kenmure, Stormont, Kilsyth, Kingston, and Strathallan ; the lords
Nairn, RoUo, Glenorchy, Drummond, and Ogilvie ; Sir James Camp-
bell of Auchinbreclc, Sir Duncan Campbell of Lochnell, Sir Donald
Macdonald, Sir Patrick Murray of Auchtertyre, Sir Hugh Paterson of
Bannockburn, Sir Alexander Erskine, Lord Lyon, Sir John Maclean,
Lieutenant-general George Hamilton, the masters of Stormont and
Nairn ; Alexander Mackenzie of Fraserdale, James Stirling of Keir,
Robert Stewart of Appin, John Campbell of Auchalader, William
Murray, younger of Auchtertyre, Alexander Robertson of Struan,
the chief of Mackinnon, Seton of Touch, Lieutenant Allan Cameron of
Lochiel, Robert Roy, alias Macgregor, Stewart of Ardshiel, Francis
Stewart, brother to the earl of Moray, John Cameron younger of
Lochiel, the lairds of Clanranald, Glengary, and Keppoch ; John Ful-
larton of Greenhall, Mackintosh younger of Borlum, James Malcolm
of Grange, Henry Maule, brother to the earl of Panmure, Walkinshaw
of Barrafield, Colin Campbell of Glendarnel, Graham of Bucklyvie,
George Home of Whitfield, John Drummond brother to Lord Drum-
mond, Lyon of Auchterhouse, Colonel Balfour, Bethune of Balfour, and
William Drummond, servant to Lord Drummond. The time allowed for
the appearance of such of the before-mentioned persons as resided to
the south of the river Tay, was seven days, to those on the north, fifteen,
and to such as might be out of Scotland, sixty days after the day of
citation. Very few of them however appeared, and the remainder, almost
without exception, rushed at once into the insurrection.

The confederated chiefs had scarcely all of them reached their re-
spective homes, when they were again summoned by Mar to meet him
at Aboyne, on the third of September, to concert measures for appear-
ing immediately in arms. Some of those who resided only a short dis-
tance from the appointed rendezvous, attended, and having received
instructions to assemble their men, and to join him without delay, at
Kirkmichael, a village in Braemar, they returned to their estates, and
despatched the fiery cross to summon their followers to the field. With
sixty followers only. Mar proclaimed the Chevalier at Castletown in
Braemar, after which he proceeded to Kirkmichael, where on the sixth
of September he raised his standard, which was consecrated by prayer,
in presence, according to some accounts, of a force of two thousand men,
most of whom were horse. * When the standard was in the course of
being erected, the ball on the top of the pole fell off, an incident which
was regarded by the superstitious highlanders as a bad omen, and which
threw a damp over the proceedings of the day.

On the following day. Mar intimated by a circular letter to the gen-
tlemen of Perthshire, his appointment to the chief command of all

• Annals of Snd year of George I. p. !8.

DECLARATION BY THE EARL OF MAR. 269

King James's forces in Scotland, and he required them to hold them-
selves in readiness, to join him with their vassals when called upon.
He also directed them to secure the arms of such persons as were hos-
tile to the cause of King James, and desired they would prevent theii
men from plundering, or living at free quarters, upon his Majesty's sub-
jects. " The King,'' he observes, " makes no doubt of your zeal for
his service, especially at this juncture when his cause is so deeply con-
cerned, and the relieving of our native country from oppression and a
fbreign yoke, too heavy for us and our posterity to bear, and when now
is the time to endeavour the restoring, not only our rightful and native
king, but also our countrj' to its ancient, free, and independent constitu-
tion under him, whose ancestors have reigned over us for so many gen-
erations."

Two days thereafter the earl published the following declaration.
" Our rightful and natural king, James the eighth, by the grace of God,
who is now coming to relieve us from our oppressions, having been pleas-
ed to intrust us with the direction of his affairs, and the command of his
forces, in this, his ancient kingdom of Scotland : and some of his
faithful subjects and servants metat Aboyne ; namely, the Lord Huntly,
the Lord Tullibardine. the Earl Marischal, the Earl Southesk, Glen-
gary from the clans, Glenderule from the earl of Broadalbine, and
gentlemen of Argyleshire, Mr Patrick Lyon of Auchterhouse, the laird
of Auldbair, Lieutenant-general George Hamilton, Major-general Gor-
don, and myself, having taken into consideration his Majesty's last and
late orders to us, find that as this is now the time that he ordered us to
appear openly in arms for him, so it seems to us absolutely necessary,
for his Majesty's service, and the relieving of our native country from
all its hardships, that all his faithful and loving subjects, and lovers of
their country, should, with all possible speed, put themselves into arms.
These are, therefore, in his Majesty's name and authority, and by virtue
of the power aforesaid, and by the king's special order to me thereunto,
to require and empower you furthwith, to raise your fencible men
with their best arms ; and you are immediately to march them to join
me and some other of the king's forces, at the Invor of Mar, on Mon-
day next, in order to proceed in our march to attend the king's stand-
ard with his other forces. The king intending that his forces shall be
paid from the time of their first setting out, he expects, as be positively
orders, that they behave themselves civilly, and commit no plundering
or other disorders, upon the highest penalties, and his displeasure, which
is expected you'l see observed.

" Now is the time for all good men to show their zeal for his majesty's
service, whose cause is so deeply concerned, and the relief of our native
country from oppression, and a foreign yoke too heavy for us and our
posterity to bear ; and to endeavour the restoring not only of our right-
ful and native king, but also our country to its ancient, free, and inde-

270 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAMDS.

pendent constitution, under him whose ancestors have reigned over us
for so many generations.

" In so honourable, good, and just a cause, we cannot doubt of the
assistance, direction, and blessing of Almighty God, who has so often
rescued the royal family of Stuart, and our country, from sinking under
oppression.

" Your punctual observance of these orders is expected, for the doing
of all which this shall be to you, and all you employ in the execution of
them, a sufficient warrant. Given at Brae-Mar, the ninth of September,
1715. MAR."

As a contrast to this high-flown and liberty-sounding document, the
following singular letter, written by the earl to his baillle in the lord-
ship of Klldrummy, on the evening of the day on which the above declara-
tion was issued, is curious. It exhibits, in a remarkable point of view,
the despotic power which, even down to such a modern period, a feudal
chief considered himself entitled to exercise with Impunity over his vas-
sals. Had such an order been Issued by a baron, who had scarcely ever
gone beyond the boundaries of his own demesnes, it might have been
passed over without remark, as in perfect keeping with the ideas of a
feudal despot ; but to see the refined courtier threatening his own
vassals and tenants with destruction, and even extermination, merely
because they hesitated to take up arms in opposition to the government
under which they lived, and under which the earl himself had served, is
indeed very extraordinary. It is probable, however, that the earl intended
this mandate as a mere brutum fulmen, as it is inconceivable that he
could contemplate the execution of such a barbarous threat.

" Invercauld, Sept. 9, at night, 1715.
" Jocke, — Ye was in the right not to come with the hundred men ye
sent up to-night, when I expected four times the number. It is a
pretty thing, when all the Highlands of Scotland are now rising upon
their king and country's account, as I have accounts from them since
they were with me, and the gentlemen of our neighbouring lowlands
expecting us down to join them, that my men should be only refractory.
Is not this the thing we are now about, which they have been wlshinj;
these twenty-six years? And now, when it is come, and the king and
country's cause is at stake, will they for ever sit still and see all perish ?
I have used gentle means too long, and so I shall be forced to put other
orders I have in execution. I have sent you enclosed an order for the
lordship of Klldrummy, which you are immediately (o intimate to all
my vassals : if they give ready obedience, it will make some amends, and
if not ye may tell them from me, that it will not be in my power to
save them (were I willing) from being treated as enemies, by those who
are ready soon to join me ; and they may depend on it, that I will be

DEATH OF LOUIS XIV. 271

the first to propose, and order their being so. Particularly, let my
own tenants in KiUlrunimy know, that if they come not forth with their
best arms, that I will send a party immediately to burn what they shall
miss taking from tbem. And they may believe this not only a threat,
but, by all that's sacred, I'll put it in execution, let my loss be what it
will, that it may be an example to others. You are to tell the gentlemen
that I'll expect them in their best accoutrements, on horseback, and no
excuse to be accepted of. Go about this with all diligence, and come
yourself and let me know your having done so. All this is not only as
ye will be answerable to me, but to your king and country.

Your assured friend and servant,

MAR."

" To John Forbes of Inverau, Bailie of Kildrutnmy.''

While the Jacobite chiefs were collecting tlieir forces, an event occur-
red which ought to have induced them to abandon, at least for a time,
an enterprise signalized by such an untoward beginning. This was the
death of Louis the Fourteenth, who expired on the first of September,
after a short illness.* An occurrence more unfortunate to the cause of
the Chevalier could scarcely have happened at such a conjuncture, as
it tended to damp the spirits of his partizans, who looked upon Louis
as the main prop of the cause. On receipt of this intelligence, tlie
chiefs held a meeting to consult upon the course thej' ought to pursue
under this new aspect of matters. Some of the more moderate were for
returning home, and remaining quiet till the arrival of the Chevalier,
should he receive any encouragement from the new government of
France to proceed on his intended voyage ; but the majority argued
that they had already gone too far to recede with safety, and that as a
general insurrection would take place in England in favour of the Cheva-
lier, they should take the field forthwith. An immediate appeal to arms
having been resolved upon, messengers were despatched to France to
urge the Chevalier to hasten his departure, and the following notable
manifesto, which had been privately printed at Edinhurgh by Freebairn,
one of the king's printers, was issued at the same time : — •

• Of this extraordinary personage, whose character hag been represented in various
and contrary points of view, by a host of writers, the dulce of Berwicit, who knew him
well, thus writes: — " No prince was ever so little known as this monarch. He has been
represented as a man not only cruel and false, but difficult of access. I have frequently
had the honour of audiences from him, and have been very familiarly admitted to his
presence; and I can affirm that h\s pride was only in appearance. He was born with
an air of majesty which struck every one so much that nobody could approach him with-
out being seized with awe and respect ; but, so soon as you spoke to him, he softened his
countenance, and put you quite at ease. He was the most polite man in his kingdom,
and his answers were accompanied with so many obliging expressions, that, if he granted
your request, the obligation was doubled by the manner of conferring it ; and, if he re-
fused, you could not complain." — Memoire* mi. II.

272 HISTORY or the highlands.

" Manifesto by the Noblemen, Gentlemen, and others, who dutifully
appear at this time in asserting tlie undoubted rights of their lawful
sovereign, James the Eighth, by the grace of God, king of Scot-
land, England, France, and Ireland, defender of the faith, &c. ;
and for relieving this, his ancient kingdom, from the oppressions
and grievances it lies under.
" His majesty's right of blood to the crowns of these realms is un-
doubted, and has never been disputed or arraigned by the least circum-
stance or lawful authority. By the laws of God, by the ancient consti-
tutions, and by the positive unrepealed laws of the land, we are bound
to pay his majesty the duty of loyal subjects. Nothing can absolve us
from this our duty of subjection and obedience. The laws of God re-
quire our allegiance to our rightful king — the laws of the land secure
our religion and other interests ; and his majesty giving up himself to
the support of bis protestant subjects, puts the means of securing to us
our concerns, religious and civil, in our own hands. Our fundamental
constitution has been entirely altered and sunk amidst the various
shocks of unstable faction, while, in searching out new expedients pre-
tended for our security, it has produced nothing but daily disappoint-
ments, and has brought us and our posterity under a precarious depend-
ence upon foreign councils and interests, and the power of foreign
troops. The late unhappy union which was brought about by the mis-
taken notions of some, and the ruinous and selfish designs of others, has
proved so far from lessening and healing the differences betwixt his ma-
jesty's subjects of Scotland and England, that it has widened and in-
creased them. And it appears by experience so inconsistent with the
rights, privileges, and interests of us, and our good neighbours and fel-
low-subjects of England, that the continuance of it must inevitably ruin
us, and hurt them ; nor can any way be found out to relieve us, and
restore our ancient and independent constitution, but by the restoring
our rightful and natural king, who his the only undoubted right to reign
over us. Neither can we hope that the party who chiefly contributed
to bring us into bondage, will at any time endeavour to work our relief,
since it is known how strenuously they opposed, in two late instances,
the efforts that were made by all Scotsmen by themselves, and suppon-
ed by the best and wisest of the English, towards so desirable an end,
as they will not adventure openly to disown the dissolution of the union
to be. Our substance has been wasted in the late ruinous wars, and we
see an unavoidable prospect of having wars continued on us and our
posterity so long as the possession of the crown is not in tlie right line
The hereditary rights of the subjects, though confirmed by conventions
and parliaments, are now treated as of no value or force, and past ser-
vices to the crown and royal family are now looked upon as grounds of
suspicion. A packed up assembly, who call themselves a British par-
liament, have, so far as in them lies, inhumanely murdered their own

MANIFESTO ISSUED BY THE JACOBITES. 273

anil our sovereign, by promising a good sura ot money as tlie reward of
so execrable a crime. Tliey have proscribed, by unaccountable ami
groundless impeachments and attainders, the worthy patriots of Eng-
land, for their honourable and successful endeavours to restore trade,
plenty, and peace to these nations.

" They have broken in upon the sacred laws of both countries by
which the liberty of our jiersons was secured, and they have empowered a
foreign pi'ince, (wlio, notwitlistanding his expectations of the crown for
fifteen years, is still unacfjuainted with our manners, customs, and lan-
guage) to make an absolute conquest (if not timely prevented) of the
three kingdoms, by investing himself with an unlimited power, not only
of raising unnecessary forces at home, but also of calling in foreign
troops, ready to promote his uncontrollable designs. Nor can we be
ever hopeful of its being otherwise, in the way it is at present, for some
generations to come. And the sad consequences of these unexampled
proceedings have really been so fatal to great numbers of our kinsmen,
friends and fellow subjects of both kingdoms, that they have been con-
strained to abandon their country, houses, wives and children, to give
themselves up prisoners, and perhaps victims, to be sacrificed to the
pleasure of foreigners, and a few hot-headed men of a restless faction,
whom they employ. Our troops abroad, notwithstanding their long
and remarkable good services, have been treated, since the peace, with
neglect and contempt, and particularly in Holland ; and it is not now
the officers' long service, merit, and blood they have lost, but money and
favour by which they can obtain justice in their preferments. So that
it is evident the satety of his majesty's person, and independency of his
kingdoms, call loudly for immediate relief and defence.

" The consideration of these unhappy circumstances, with the due re-
gard we have to common justice, the peace and quiet of us and oui
posterity, and our duty to his majesty, and his commands, are the power-
ful motives which have engaged us in our present undertaking, which
we are firmly and heartily resolved to push to the utmost, and stand by
one another to the last extremity, as the only solid and efiectual means
for putting an end to so dreadful a prospect, as by our present situa-
tion we have before our eyes, and with faithful hearts true to our
rightful king, our country and our neighbours, we earnestly beseech
and expect, as his majesty commands, the assistance of all our true
fellow subjects to second our attempt ; declaring hereby our sincere
intentions that we will promote and concur in all lawful means foi
settling a lasting peace to these lands, under the auspicious govern-
ment of our native-born rightful sovereign, the direction of our own
domestic councils, and the protection of our native forces and troops.
That we will in the same manner concur and endeavour to have our
laws, liberties, and properties, secured by the parliaments of both king-
doms ; that by the wisdom of such parliaments we will endeavour to have

II. 2 M

274

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS

such laws enacted as shall give absolute security to us, and future ages
for the protestant religion, against all efforts of arbitrary power, poperj',
and all its other enemies.

" Nor have we any reason to be distrustful of the goodness of God,
the truth and purity of our holy religion, or the kno^vn excellency of his
majesty's judgment, as not to hope, that indue time, good examples and
conversation with our learned divines, will remove those prejudices, which
we know his education in a Popisli country has not rivetted in his
royal discerning mind ; and we assure, as justice is a virtue in all reli-
gions and professions, so the doing of it to him will not lessen his good
opinion of ours. That as the king is willing to give his royal indemnity
for all that is past, so he will cheerfully concur in passing general acts of
oblivion, that our fellow subjects, who have been misled, may have a
fair opportunity of living with us in the same friendly manner that we
design to live with them. That we will use our endeavours for redress-
ing the bad usage of our troops abroad, and bringing the troops at home
on the same footing and establishment of pay, as those of England.
That we will sincerely and heartily go into such measures as shall
maintain eflectually, and establish, a right, tinn, and lasting union be-
twixt his majesty's ancient kingdom of Scotland, and our good neigh-
bours and fellow subjects of the kingdom of England.

" The peace of these nations being thus settled and we freed from
foreign dangers, we will use our endeavours to have the army reduced
to the usual number of guards and garrisons ; and will concur in such
laws and methods, as shall relieve us of the heavy taxes and debts
now lying upon us, and at the same time, will support the public credit
in all its parts. And we hereby faithfully promise and engage that
every officer who joins with us in our king and country's cause shall
not only enjoy the same post he now does, but shall be advanced
and preferred according to his rank and station and the number
of men he brings off with him to us. And each foot soldier so
joining us shall have twenty sliillings sterling, and each trooper or
dragoon, who brings horse and accoutrements along with him, £12
sterling gratuity, besides their pay ; and in general we shall concur with
all our fellow subjects in such measures as shall make us flourish at
home, and be formidable abroad, under our rightful sovereign, and the
peaceable harmony of our ancient fundamental constitution, undis-
turbed by a pretender's interests and councils from abroad, or a restless
faction at home. In so honourable, so good, and just a cause, we do
not doubt of the assistance, direction, and blessing of Almighty God,
who has so often succoured the royal family of Stuarts, and our country
from sinking under oppression."

A document better calculated to arouse the national feeling could
not have been penned. Every topic which could excite a spirit of dis-
affection against the government then existing is artfully introduced, and

INKFI'ECTIVENESS OF THE MANIFESTO.

275

enforced with an energy of diction and a strengtli of reasoning admirably
fitted lor exciting tlie spirit of a people living, as they imagined, in a
state of national degradation. But this manifesto which, a few years
before, would have set the whole of Scotland in a flame, produced little
or no effect in those quarters where alone it was niicessary to makt such
an ajjpeal.

!y*4'^M V^-lir

CHAPTER XIII.

Active measures of tlie government lo suppress the insurrertion — Ineflertual atten pt
to surprise tlie castle of EdhiLmrgh Uuke of Argyle appuinied to the command of
the government forces — Expeditions uf General Goidon and Campbell of Glenlyon
into Argyle — Armistice belween Glenlyon and the Campbells — Chevalier proclaimed
at Moulinearn by Mar — Capture of Perth by the rebels — Seize a vessel with arms at
Burntisland — Insurrection in Northumberland — Capture of Holy Island — Prepara-
tions for the defence of Newcastle — Aifair at Keith — Insurrection in the soutli of Scot-
land under Viscount Kenmure — Kxpedition of Brigadier Mackintosh — Crosses the
Frith of Foi-th — Lands at North Berwick and other places in the neighbourhood —
March of Mackintosh towards Edinburgh— Enters Leith— March of the duke of Ar-
gyle to Leilh — Retires — Retreat of Mackintosh — Reaches Kelso and joins the forces
under Forster — Disputes among the Insurgents — Secession of five liundred High-
landers— March of the rebels through Cumberland and Westmoreland — Battle of
I*reston.

While the eafl of Mar was thus busily engaged exciting a rebellion
in the north, the government was no less active in making preparations
to meet it. Ajjprehensive of a general rising in England, particularly
in the west, where a spirit of disaffection had often displayed itself, and
to which the insurrection in Scotland was, it was believed, intended
as a diversion ; the government, instead of despatching troops to Scot-
land, posted the whole disposable force in the disaffected districts, at
convenient distances, by which disposition, considerable bodies could be
assembled together to assist each other in case of need. The wisdom
of this plan soon became apparent, as there can be no doubt, that
had an army been sent into Scotland to suppress the rebellion in the
north, an insurrection would have broken out in England, which might
have been fatal to the government.*

To strengthen, bowever, the military force in Scotland, the regiments
of Forfar, Orrery, and Hill, were recalled from Ireland. These arrived
at Edinburgh about the twenty-fourth of August, and were soon thereafter
despatched along with other troops to the west, under Major-Genera!
Wightman, for the purpose of securing the fords of the Forth, and the
pass of Stirling. These troops being upon the reduced establishment,
did not exceed sixteen hundred men in whole, a force totally inadequate
for the protection of such an important post. Orders were, therefore,
sent to the earl of Stair's regiment of dragoons and two foot regiments,
which lay in the north of England, to march to the camp in the park
of Stirling with all expedition, and at same time, Evans's regiment of

• Annals of Zd veur of George I. p. 30.

ATTEMPT TO SURPRISE THE CASTLE OF EDINBURGH. 'ill

dragoons, and Clyton's and Wightman's regiments of foot were recalled
from Ireland.*

During the time the carap was forming at Stirling, the friends of
the Chevalier at Edinburgh formed the daring project of seizing the
castle of Edinburgh, the possession of whicli would have been of vast
importance to the Jacobite cause. Lord Drummond, a Catholic, was
at the head of this party, which consisted of about ninety gentlemen
selected for the purpose, about one half of wliom were Highlanders.
In the event of success, each of the adventurers was to receive £100
Sterling and a commission in the army. To facilitate their design, they
employed one Arthur, who had formerly been an ensign in the Scotch
guards, to corrupt some of the soldiers in tlie garrison, and who by money
and promises of preferment induced a sergeant, a corporal, and two sen-
tinels to enter into the views of the conspirators. These engaged to attend
at a certain place upon the wall, on the north, near the Sally-port, in order
to assist the conspirators in their ascent. The latter had prepared a
scaling ladder made of ropes, capable of holding several men abreast, and
had so contrived it, that it could be drawn up through means of pulleys,
by a small rope which the soldiers were to fasten behind the wall. Having
completed their arrangements, they fixed on the ninth of September
for the attempt, being the day after the last detachment of the govern-
ment troops quartered in camp in St Anne's Yards, near Edinburgh,
had set off for Stirling. But the projectors of this well concerted en-
terprise were doomed to lament its failure when almost on the eve of
completion.

Arthur, the officer who had bribed the soldiers, having engaged his bro-
ther, a physician in Edinburgh, in the Jacobite interest, let him into the
secret of the design upon the castle. Dr Arthur, who appears to have
been a man of a timorous disposition, grew alarmed at this intelligence,
and so deep had been the impression made upon his mind while contem-
plating the probable consequences of such a step, that on the day before
the attempt his spirits became so depressed as to attract the notice of
his wife, who importuned him to inform her of the cause. He com-
plied, and his wife, without acquainting him, sent an anonymous letter,
by a servant, to Sir Adam Cockburn of Ormiston, lord-justice-clerk, ac-
quainting him of the conspiracy. Cockburn received this letter at ten
o'clock at night, and sent it off with a letter from himself to Lieutenant-
Colonel Stuart, the deputy-governor of the castle, who received the com-
munication shortly before eleven. Stuart lost no time in ordering the offi-
cers to double their guards and make diligent rounds ; but probably sup-
posing that no attempt would be made that night he went to bed after
issuing these instructions. In the meantime, the conspirators had assem-
bled at a tavern preparatory to their attempt, but unfortunately for its
success they lingered among their cups far beyond the time they had fixed

• Annals of Zd year of George I. p. 36 — 7.

278 HISTORT OF THE HIGHLANDS.

upon for putting their project into execution. In fact, they did not as-
semble at the bottom of the wall till after the deputy-governor had issued
his orders, but ignorant of what had passed within the castle, they proceed
ed to tie the rope, which had been let down by the soldiers, to the ladder
Unhappily for the whole party, the hour for changing the sentinels had
arrived, and while the traitorous soldiers were in the act of drawing up
the ladder, one Lieutenant Lindsay, at the head of a party of fresh senti-
nels, came upon them on his way to the Sally-port. The soldiers, alarmet'
at the approach of Lindsay's party, immediately slipt the rope, and the
ladder fell to the ground. The noise which this occurrence produced
alarmed one of tlie sentinels, who instantly discharged his piece, upon
which the conspirators, perceiving that they were discovered, fled and
dispersed. A party of the town-guard which the lord provost, at the re-
quest of the lord-justice-clerk, had sent to patrole about the castle, attract-
ed by the firing, immediately rushed from the West-Port, and repaired to
the spot, but all the conspirators, with the exception of four whom they
Becured, had escaped. These were one Captain Maclean, an officer
who had fought under Dundee at Killiecrankie, whom they found lying
on the ground much injured by a fall from the ladder or from a preci-
pice ; Alexander Ramsay and George Boswell, writers in Edinburgh ;
and one Lesly, who had been in the service of the same dutchess of
Gordon who had distinguished herself in the afl^air of the medal. This
party picked up the ladder and a quantity of muskets and carbines
which the conspirators had thrown away in their flight.*

Such was the result of au enterprise which had been matured with
great judgment, and which would probably have succeeded, but for
the trifling circumstance before mentioned. The capture of such an
important fortress as the castle of Edinburgh, at such a time, would
have been of vast importance to the Jacobites, inasmuch as it would
Dot only have afforded them an abundant supply of military stores, with
which it was then well provided, and put them in possession of a con-
siderable sum of money, but would also have served as a rallying
point to the disaffected liviug to the south of the Forth, who only waited
a favourable opportunity to declare themselves. Besides giving them
the command of the city, the possession of the castle by a Jacobitr
force would have compelled the commander of the governiuent tbrcns
to withdraw the greater part of his troops from Stirling, and to leave
that highly important post exposed to the northern insurgents. Had
the attempt succeeded, Lord Drummond, the contriver of the design,
was to have been made governor of the castle, and notice of its
capture was to have been announced to some of the Jacobite parti-
zans on the opposite coast of Fife, by firing three rounds of cannon from
its battlements. On hearing the report of the guns, these men were

• Rmtn, p. 159, ir.n. Ami.Hls of fleorgt I. ])■ 39, 40. liae, p. 199, 200.

EXPEDITION OF GENEHAL GORDON INTO ARGYLE. 279

instantly to have communicatod the intelligence to the earl of Mar
who was to lui.-tcii south with all his forces.*

As the appuiutmont of a person of rank, influence, and talent, to the
command of the army, destined to oppose the earl of Mar, was of great
importance, the duke of Argjde, who had served with distinction
abroad, and who had formerly acted as commander-in-chief of the forces
in Scotland, was pitched upon as generalissimo of the army encamped at
Stirling. Having received instructions from his majesty, at an audi-
ence on the eighth of September, he departed for Scotland the follow-
ing day, accompanied by some of the Scottish nobility, and other per-
sons of distinction, and arrived at Edinburgh on the fourteenth. About
the same time, the earl of Sutherland, who had offered his services to
raise the clans in the northern highlands, iri support of the government,
was sent down from London to Leith in a ship of war with orders to
obtain a supplyof arms and ammunition from the governor of the castle of
Edinburgh. He arrived on the twenty-first of September, and after giving
instructions for the shipment of these supplies, departed for the north.

When the duke of Argyle reached Edinburgh, he found that Mar
had made considerable progress in the insurrection, and that the regular
forces at Stirling were far inferior in point of numbers to those of the
Jacobite commander. He, therefore, on the day he arrived in the capi-
tal, addressed a letter to the magistrates of Glasgow, (who, on the first
appearance of the insurrection, had offered, in a letter to Lord Townshend,
one of the secretaries of state, to raise six hundred men, in support of the
government, at the expenseofthe city,) requesting them to send forthwith
tiveor sixhundred men to Stirling, under the command of such officers as
they should think fit to appoint, to join the forces stationed there. In
compliance with this demand, three battalions, amounting to between six
and seven hundred men, under the command of the Lord Provost of the
city, were successively despatched to Stirling on the seventeenth,
eighteenth, and nineteenth of September. On the arrival of the first
battalion, the duke addressed a second letter from Stirling to the magis-
trates of Glasgow, thanking them for their promptitude, and requesting
them to send intimation, with the greatest despatch, to all the friends
of the government in the west, to assemble all the fencible forces at
Glasgow, and to hold them in readiness to march when required. In
connexion with these instructions, the duke, at the same time, wrote
letters of a similar import to the magistrates of all the well affected
burghs, and to private individuals who were known to be favourably dis-
posed. The most active measures were accordingly adopted in the south
and west by the friends of the government, and in a short time a suffi-
titnt force was raised to keep the disaffected in these districts in check.f

Meanwhile, the earl of Mar and his friends were no less active in

• Annals of second jear of George I., p. iO. — PaUt-n, p. ISO.
t Rae.

280 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

preparing for the campaign. Pursuant to an arrangement with the J*
cobite chiefs, General Gordon, an officer of great bravery and expe-
rience, was despatched into the Highlands to raise the north-western
clans, with instructions either to join Mar with such forces as he could
collect at the fords of the Forth, or to march upon Glasgow by Dum-
barton. Having collected a body of between four and five thousand
men, chiefly Macdonalds, Jlacleans, and Canierons, Gordon attempted
to surprise Fort-William, and succeeded so far as to carry by sur-
prise some of the outworlcs, sword in hand, in which were a lieutenant,
sergeant, and twenty-five men ; but the garrison being timeously
alarmed, he withdrew his men, and marched towards Inverary. This
route, it is said, was taken at the suggestion of Campbell of Glendar-
nel, who, at the first meeting of the Jacobites had assured Mar
and his friends that if the more northern clans would take Argj'leshire
in their way to the south, their numbers would be greatlj' increased by
the Macleans, Macdonalds, INIacdougalls, Macneills, and the other
Macs of that shire, together with a great number of Campbells, of tlie
family and followers of tlie earl of Breadalbane, Sir James Campbell of
Auchinbreck, and Sir Duncan Campbell of Lochnell, all of whom, he
said, would join in the insurrection, when they saw the other clans in
that country at hand to protect them against those in the interest of the
duke of Argyle.*

When the earl of Islay, brother to the duke of Argyle, heard of
General Gordon's movements, he assembled about two thousand
five hundred men to prevent a rising of the clans in the shire of
Argyle, and of the disaffected branches of the name of Campbell.
On arriving before Inverary, General Gordon found the place pro-
tected by entrenchments which the earl had thrown up. He did not
venture on an attack, but contented himself witli encamping at the
north-east side of the town, at nearly the distanceof a mile, where he con-
tinued some days without any hostile attempt being made on either side.
It was evidently contrary to Gordon's plan to hazard an action, his sole
design in entering Argyleshire being to give an opportunity to the Ja-
cobite population of that district to join his standard, which the keeping
such a large body of men locked up in Inverary, would grcatlv assist.

During the continuance of the " Black Camp,'' before Inverary, as
General Gordon's party was denominated by the Campbells, the earl of
Islay and his men were kept in a state of continual alarm from tlie most
trifling causes. On one occasion, an amusing incident occurred, which
excited the fears of the Campbells, and showed how greatly they
dreaded an attack. Sometime before this occurrence, a small body of
horse from Kintyre, had joined the earl : the men were quartered in the
town, but the horses were put out to graze on tlie east side of the small
river that runs past Inverary. The horses disliking their quarters,

• Kao, p. 223 —Life of John, tiuko of Argyle. London, 1713, p. 178, 179.

glenlyon's expedition into argyle. 281

took their departure one night in searcli of better pasture. They sought
their way along the shore for tlie purpose of crossing the rivor at tlie
lower end of the town. The trampling of their hoofs on the gravel
being heard at some distance by the garrison, the earl's men were
thrown into the utmost consternation, as they had no doubt that the
enemy was advancing to attack them. As the horses were on full
gallop, and advancing nearer every moment, the noise increasing
as they approached, nothing but terror was to be seen in every face.
With trembling hands they seized their arms and put themselves in a
defensive posture to repel the attack, but they were fortunately soon
relieved from the panic they had been thrown into by some of the
horses which had passed the river approaching without riders; so that
" at last (says the narrator of this anecdote) the whole was found only
to be a plot among the Kintyre horse to desert not to the enemy,
but to their own country ; for 'tis to be supposed the horses, as well
as their owners, were of very loyal principles."*

Shortly after this event, another occurrence took place, which termi-
nated not quite so ridiculously as the other. One night the sergeant on
duty, when going his rounds at the quarter of the town opposite to the place
where the clans lay, happened to make some mistake in the watchword.
The sentinel on duty supposing the sergeant and his party to be enemies,
discharged his piece at them. The earl alarmed at the firing, immediately
ordered the drums to beat to arms, and in a short time the wliole of his men
were assembled on the castle-green, where they were drawn up in battalia
in regular order by torch or candle light, the night being extremely
dark. As soon as they were marshalled, the earl gave them orders to
fire in platoons towards the quarter whence they sup])osed the enemy was
approaching, and, accordingly, they opened a brisk fire, which was kept
up for a considerable time, by which several of their own sentinels in
returning from their posts were wounded. Whilst the Campbells were
thus employed upon the castle green, several gentlemen, some say
general officers, who liked to fight " under covert," retired to the
square tower or castle of Inverary, from the windows of which they
issued iheir orders. When the earl found that he had no enemy to con-
tend with, be ordered his men to cease firing, and to continue all night
under arms. This humorous incident, however, was attended with
good consequences to the terrified Campbells, as it had the effect of re-
lieving them from the presence of the enemy. General Gordon, who had
not the most distant intention of entering the town, on hearing the close
and regular firing from the garrison, concluded that some regular forces
had entered the town, to celebrate whose arrival the firing had taken
place, and alarmed for his own safety, sounded a retreat towards
Perthshire before day-light.f

No sooner, however, had the clans left Inverary, than a detachment

• Life of John Duke of Argjle, p. ISO. t Ibid. p. 161.

2 2 N

282 HisTORir OF the highlands.

of the earl of Breadalbane's men, to the number of about five hundred,
entered the shire under the command of Campbell of Glenlj-on. To
pxpel them, the earl of Islay sent a select body of about seven hun-
dred men, in the direction of Lorn, under the command of Colonel
Campbell of Fanab, an old experienced officer, who came up with
Glenlyon's detachment at Glenscheluch, a small village at the end of the
Inke, called Lochnell, in the mid division of Lorn, about twenty miles
distant from Inverary. Both sides immediately prepared for battle,
and to lighten themselves as much as possible, the men threw
off' their plaids and otlier incumbrances. Whilst both parties were
standing gazing on each other with fury in their looks, waiting for the
signal to commence battle, a parley was proposed, in consequence of
which, a conference was held half-way between the lines between the
commanders. The result was, that the Breadalbane men, to spare the
eff"u-ion of the Campbell blood, agreed to lay down their anus on con-
dition of being allowed to march out of the country without disturbance.
These terms being communicated to both detachments, were approved
of by a loud shout of joy, and hostages were immediately exchanged on
both sides for the due performance of the articles, which were, there-
upon, proclaimed in the centre between the two armies. The earl of
Islaj', on coming up with the remainder of his forces, was dissatisfied
with the terms of the capitulation, as he considered that he had it in his
power to have cut off Glenlyon's party, but he was persuaded to accede
to the articles, which were accordingly honourably observed on both
sides.*

In the meantime, the earl of Mar had collected a considerable force
with which he marched, about the middle of September, to Moulinearn,
a small village in Athole, where he proclaimed the Clievalier. On
entering Athole, he was joined by five hundred Athole-men, under the
marquis of TuIIibardine, and I)y the part}' of the earl of Breadalbane's
men, under Campbell of Glenlyon and Campbell of Giendarnel.
He was afterwards joined by the old earl himself, who, although
he had, the day preceding his arrival, procured an affidavit from a pliy-
sician in Perth, and the minister of the parish of Kenmore, of which
he was patron, certifying his total inability, from age, and a compli-
cation of diseases, to implement a mandate of the government re-
quiring him to attend at Edinburgh ; yet, nevertheless, found liimseH
able enough to take the field in support of the Chevalier.f Having re-
ceived intelligence that the earl of Rothes, and some of the gentlemen
of Fife, were advancing with five hundred of the militia of that county
to seize Perth, he sent Colonel John Hay, brother to the earl of
Kinnoul, with a detachment of two hundred horse to take possession of
that town, who accordingly entered it on the fourteenth of September,

• Lil'e of llie Duke of Arsyli-, p. 184.
f- Collertion of original Letters ;inil Authentic Papers relating to tlie RebtlUnn, 171S.
p. 20.

CAPTURE OF PERTH. 283

without opposition, and there proclaimed the Chevalier. The provost
made indeed a demonstration of opposition by collecting between tlireeand
I'uur hundred men in the market place ; but Colonel Hay having been
jciined by a party of one hundred and fifty men which had been sent into
the town a i'vw days before by the duke of Athole, the provost dismissed
them. When the earl of Rothes, who was advancing upon Perth with
a body of five hundred men, heard of the capture of Perth, he retired to
Leslie, and sent notice of the event to the duke of Argyle. The
possession of Perth was of importance to Mar in a double point of
view, as it not only gave him the command of the whole of Fife, in addi-
tion to the country north of the Tay, but also inspired his friends with
confidence.* Accordingly, the Chevalier was ])roclaimed at Aberdeen
by the earl marischal, at Castle Gordon, by the marquis of Huntly, at
Brechin, by the earl of Panmure, at Montrose, by the earl of Southesk,
and at Dundee, by Graham of Duntroon, who was afterwards created
Viscount Dundee, by the Chevalier.

As Mar had no intention of descending into the Lowlands himself
without a considerable force, he remained several days at Moulinearn
waiting for the clans who had promised to join him, and in the mean
time directed Colonel Hay, whom on the eighteenth of September, he ap-
pointed governor of Perth, to retain possession of that town at all hazards,
and to defend it to the last extremity should the duke of Argyle attempt
to drive him out. He also directed him to tender to the inhabitants
the oath of allegiance to the Chevalier, and to expel from the town all
persons who refused to take the oath. After this purgation had been
effected, Governor Hay was ordered to appoint a free election of magis-
trates by poll, to open all letters passing through the post office, and to
appoint a new post-master in whom he could have confidence. To
support Governor Hay in ease of an attack, Mar sent down a party of
Robertsons, on the twenty-second, under the command of Alexander
Robertson of Struan, their chief. " You must take care (says Mar in
a letter which he wrote to Hay the same day) to please the elector of
Strowan, as they call him. He is an old colonel ; but, as he says him-
self, understands not much of the trade. So he'll be ready to be ad-
vised by Colonel Balfour and Urquhart. As for money, I am not so
rife of it as I hope to be soon ; but I have sent some of tlie little I have,
fifty guineas, by the bearer."J

At this time. Mar's forces did not probably exceed three thousand
men, but their number having been increased to upwards of five thou-
sand within a few days thereafter, he marched down upon Perth, which
he entered on the twenty-eighth of September, on which day the Hon-
ourable James Murray, second son of the Viscount Stormont, arrived
at Perth with letters from the Chevalier to the earl, giving him as-

• Annals of 2J year (if fieorge I. p. 41. Patten, p. 6—155—220.
i Rae, p. 191. i Uriginol Letter in (>os6eesiDn of the Earl of Kinnoul.

284 HISTORY OP THE HIGHLANDS.

Eurances of speedy and powerful succour, and promises from the Che-
valier, as was reported, of appearing personally in Scotland in a
short time. This gentleman had gone over to France in tiie month ol
April preceding, to meet the Chevalier, who had appointed him principal
secretary for Scotland, and had lately landed at Dover, whence he had
travelled incognito over land to Edinburgh, where, although well known,
he escaped detection. After spending a few days in Edinburgh, during
which time he attended, it is said, several private meetings of the friends
of the Chevalier, he crossed the Frith in an open boat at Newhaven,
and landed at Burntisland, whence he proceeded to Perth.*

The first operations of the insurgents were marked by vigour and in-
trepidity. The seizure of Perth, though by no means a brilliant affair,
was almost as important as a victory would have been at such a crisis,
and another dashing exploit which a party of the earl's army performed
a few days after his arrival at Perth, was calculated to make an impres-
sion equally favourable to the Jacobite cause. The account of this
affair stands thus. Before the earl of Sutherland took his departure
from Leith for Dunrobin castle, to raise a force in the north, he arranged
with the government for a supply of arms, ammunition and military
stores, which was to be furnished by the governor of Edinburgh castle,
and sent down to the north with as little delay as possible. Accord-
ingly, about the end of September, a vessel belonging to Burntisland,
was freighted for that purpose, on board of which were put between
three and four hundred stands of arms, and a considerable quantity of am-
munition and military stores. The vessel anchored in Leith roads, but
was prevented from passing down the Frith by a strong north-easterly
wind, which, continuing to blow very hard, induced the captain for se-
curity's sake to weigh anchor and stand over to Burntisland roads, on the
opposite coast of Fife, under the protection of the weather shore. The
captain went on shore at Burntisland, to visit his wife and family who
resided in the town, and the destination of the vessel, and the nature of
her cargo being made known to some persons in the Jacobite interest,
information thereof was immediately communicated by them to the
earl of Mar, who at once resolved to send a detachment to Burntisland
to seize the vessel. Accordingly, he despatched on the evening of the
second of October, a party of four hundred horse, and five hundred
foot, from Perth to Burntisland, with instructions so to order their
march as not to enter the latter place till about midnight. To draw oflf
the attention of the duke of Argyle from this expedition. Mar made a
movement as if he intended to march with all his forces upon Alva, in
the neighbourhood of Stirling, in consequence of which Argyle, who had
received intelligence of Mar's supposed design, kept his men under arms
the whole day in expectation of an attack. Meanwhile, the party having
reached their destination, the foot entered Burntisland unperceivcd, and

• Annals of 2d year of George I. p. 4^.

ARRIVAI. OF THF MACKINTOSHES AT PERTH. 265

while the horse surrounded the town to prevent any person from carrying
the intelligence of their arrival out of it, the foot seized all the boats in
(he harbour and along the shore, to cut off all communication by sea.
About one hundred and twenty men were, thereupon, sent off in some
boats to board the ship, which they secured without opposition. They at
first attempted to bring tlie vessel into the harbour, but were prevented
by the state of the tide. They, however, lost no time in discharging her
cargo, and having pressed a number of carts and horses from the neigh-
bourhood into their service, the detachment set otf undisturbed for Perth
with their booty, early next morning, where they arrived without moles-
tation. Besides the arms and other warlike materials which they found
in the vessel, the detachment carried off a hundred stands of arms from
the town, and between thirty and forty more which they found in another
ship. Emboldened by the success of this enterprise, parties of the in-
surgents spread themselves over Fife, took possession of all the towns on
the north of the Frith of Forth, from Burntisland to Fifeness, and
prohibited all communication between them and the opposite coast.
Tlie earl of Rothes, who, since the capture had quartered at Leslie, was
now obliged for fear of being cut off, to retire to Stirling under the
protection of a detachment of horse and foot, which had been sent from
Stirling to support him, under the command of the earl of Forfar, and
Colonel Ker.*

Mar had not yet been joined by any of the northern clans, nor by
those under General Gordon ; but on the fifth of October, about five
hundred of the Mackintoshes arrived under the command of the laird of
Borlum, better known by the name of Brigadier Mackintosh, an old and
experienced soldier, who, as uncle of the chief, had placed himself at the
head of that clan in consequence of his nephew's minority. This clan had
formerly sided with the revolution party ; but, influenced by the Borlura,
who was a zealous Jacobite, they were among the first to espouse the
cause of the Chevalier, and had seized upon Inverness before some of the
other clans had taken the field.-)- On the following day the earl was also

• Annals of George I. p. 43, 44. P:it:eii, p. 156. Rae, p. 234.
t The following letter was written by the young chief at the commencement of the
insurrection.

" To the Honourable My Ladie CuUodin yor. at CuIIodin.
Madam,

You can'nt be a stranger to the circumstances I have put mjself in at
the tyme, and the great need I have of my own Men and followers wherever they may
be found, "Wherefur I thought fitt, seeing CuUodin is not at home, by this line to en-
treat you to put no stopp in the way of these Men that are and have been my followers
upon your ground.

Madam, your compliance in this will very much oblige,
Youi" most humble Servant,

L. MACKINTOSHE.
14(A Siptember, 1715.
P. .S. Mudani, if what I demand will not be granted I hope I'll be excused to lie in
my duly.

CuuJden Papers, p. 38, No- XLIX.

286 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

joined by the marquis of Huntly at the head of five nundred horse, and
two thousand foot, chiefly Gordons ; and on the tenth by the Earl
Marischal with tliree hundred horse, among whom were many gentle-
men, and five hundred foot. Tiiese different accessions increased Mar'a
army to upwards of eight thousand men.

Mar ought now to have instantly opened the campaign by ad-
vancing upon Stirling, and attaclving the dut;e of Argyle, whose
forces did not, at this time, amount to two thousand men. In
his rear he had nothing to dread, as the earl of Seaforth, who was ad-
vancing to join him with a body of three thousand foot and six hundred
horse, had left a division of two thousand of his men behind him to keep
the earl of Sutherland, and the other friends of the government in tiie
northern highlands, in check. As the whole of the towns on the eastern
coast from Burntisland to Inverness were in possession of his detach-
ments, and as there was not a single hostile party along the whole of that
extensive stretch, no obstacle could have occurred, had he marched
south, to prevent him from obtaining a regular supply of provisions for
his army and such warlike stores as might reach any of these ports
from France. One French vessel had already safely landed a sup-
ply of arms and ammunition in a northern port, and another during
Mar's stay at Perth boldly sailed up the Frith of Forth, in presence of
some English ships of war, and entered the harbour of Burntisland with
a fresh supply. But though personally brave. Mar was deficient in
military genius, and was altogether devoid of that decisive promptitude
of action by which Montrose and Dundee were distinguished. Instead,
therefore, of attempting at once to strike a decisive blow at Argyle, the
insurgent general lingered at Perth upwards of a month. Tliis error,
however, might have been repaired had he not committed a more fatal
one by detaching a considerable part of his army, including the Macin-
toshes, who were the best armed of his forces, at the solicitation of a
few English Jacobites, who, having taken up arms in the north of Eng-
land, craved his support.

About the period of Mar's departure for Scotland, the government had
obtained information of a dangerous conspiracy in England in favour of
the Chevalier, in consequence of which the titular duke of Powis was
committed to the Tower, and Lords Lansdown and Duplin were arrest-
ed, as implicated in the conspiracy, and a warrant was issued for the
apprehension of the earl of Jersey. At the same time, a message from
the king was sent to the house of commons, informing them that his
majesty had given orders for the apprehension of Sir William W^'nd-
ham, Mr Thomas Forster, junior, member for the county of Nor-
thumberland, and other members of the lower house, as being en-
gaged in a design to support an invasion of the kingdom. Sir William
Wyndham was accordingly apprehended, and committed to the Tower,
but Mr Forster having been apprised of the arrival of a messenger at
Durham with the warrant for his apprehension, avoided him, and joined

INSURBF.r.TION IN ENGLAND 287

the earl of Derwentwater, a young Catholic nobleman, against whom a
similar warrant had been issued. Tired of shifting from place to place,
they convened a meeting of their friends in Northumberland to consult
as to the course they should pursue, at which it was resolved immedi-
ately to take up arms in support of the Chevalier. In pursuance of a reso-
lution entered into, about sixty horsemen, mostly gentlemen, and some
attendants, met on Thursday the sixth of October, at a place called
Greenrig, whence, after some consultation, they marched to Plainfield,
a place on the river Coquet, where they were joined by a few adherents.
From Plainfield they departed for Kothbury, a small market town,
where they took up their quarters for the night.

Next morning, their numbers still increasing, they advanced to Wark-
worth, where they were joined by Lord Widdrington, with thirty horse,
on the following day. Mr Forstcr was now appointed to the command
of this force, not on account of his military abilities, for he had none,
but because he was a Protestant, and therefore less objectionable to thf
high-church party than the earl of Derwentwater, who, in the absence
of a regularly bred commander, should, on account of his rank, have
been named to the chief command. On Sunday morning, Mr Forster
sent Mr Buxton, a clergyman of Derbyshire, who acted as chaplain to
the insurgent party, to the parson of Warkworth, with orders to pray
for the Chevalier by name as king, and to introduce into the Litany the
name of Mary, the queen-mother, and all the dutiful branches of tht
royal family, and omit the names of king George, and the prince and
princess. The minister of the parish wisely declined to obey these or-
ders, and for his own safety retired to Newcastle. The parishioners,
however, were not deprived of divine service, as Mr Buxton, on the re-
fusal of the parson to officiate as directed, entered the church, and
performed in his stead with considerable eS'ect.*

On Monday the tenth of October, Mr Forster was joined by forty
horse from the Scottish border, on which day he openly proclaimed the
Chevalier with sound of trumpet, and such other formalities as circum-
stances would admit of. This small party remained at Warkworth till
the fourteenth, when they proceeded to Alnwick, where they were
joined by many of their friends, and thence marched to Morpeth. At
Felton bridge they were reinforced by another party of Scottish horse
to the number of seventy, chiefly gentlemen from the border, so that on
entering Morpeth their force amounted to three hundred horse. In the
course of his march Forster had numerous offers of service from the
country people, which, however, he was obliged to decline from the
want of arms ; but he promised to avail himself of them as soon as he

• " Buxton's sermon gave mighty encouragement to the hearers, being full of exhorta-
tions,-6ourishing arguments, and cunning insinuations, to be hearty and zealous in the
cause; for he was a man of a very comely personage, and could humour his discoui"se to
Induce his hearers to believe what he preached, having very good natural parts, and being
pr«tty well read." — Patten, p. 29.

288

HISTORY OP THE HIGHLANDS.

had provided himself with arms and ammunition, which he expected to
find in Newcastle, whither he intended to proceed.

In connexion with these movements, Launcelot Errington, a New-
castle shipmaster, undertook to surprise Holy Island, which was guarded
by a few soldiers, exchanged weekly from the garrison of Berwick. In
a military point of view, the possession of such an insignificant post was
of little importance, but it was considered by the Jacobites as useful for
making signals to such French vessels as might appear off the Northum-
berland coast with supplies for the insurgents. Errington, it appears,
was known to tlie garrison, as he had been in the habit of visiting tlie
island on business ; and having arrived off the island on the tenth of
October, he was allowed to enter the port, no suspicions being enter-
tained of his design. Pursuant to the plan he had formed for surprising
the castle, he invited the greater part of the garrison to visit his vessel,
and having got them on board, he and the party which accompanied
him left the vessel, and took possession of the castle without opposition.
Errington endeavoured to apprise his friends at Warkworth of his suc-
cess by signals, but these were not observed, and the place was retaken
the following day by a detachment of tliirty men from the garrison of
Berwick, and a party of fifty of the inhabitants of the town, wlio, cross-
ing the sands at low water, entered the island, and carried the fort sword
in hand. Errington, in attempting to escape, received a shot in the
thigh, and being captured, vi-as carried prisoner to Berwick ; whence he
had the good fortune to make his escape in disguise.*

The possession of Newcastle, where the Jacobite interest was very
powerful, was the first object of the Northumberland insurgents ; bui
they were frustrated in their design by tlie vigilance of the magistrates.
Having first secured all suspected persons, they walled up all the gates
with stone and lime, except the Brampton gate on wiiich they placed two
pieces of cannon. An association of the well- affected inhabitants was
formed for the defence of the town, and the churchmen and dissenters,
laj'ing aside their antipathies for a time, enrolled themselves as volun-
teers. Seven hundred of these were immediately armed hy tlie magis-
trates. The keelmen also, who were chiefly dissenters, offered to fur-
nish a similar number of men to defend that town ; but their services
were not required, as two successive reinforcements of regular troops
from Yorkshire entered the town on the ninth and twelfth of October.
When the insurgents received intelligence of the state of affairs at New-
castle, they retired to Hexham, having a few days before sent an ex-
press to the earl of Mar for a reinforcement of foot.

The news of the rising under Mr Forster, having been communicated
to the marquis of Tweeddale, Lord Lieutenant of East Lothian or Had-
dingtonshire, in letters from Berwick, his lordship called a meeting of
his deputy lieutenants at Haddington early in October, and at the same

Patlen, p. 3), 32— Annals of George I., p. 74. 75. — Rae, p. 241, S4i!.

DEATH OF YOUNG HEPBURN OF KEITH. 289

time issued instructions to them to put the laws in execution against
"papists" and other suspected persons, by binding them over r.o keep
the peace, and by seizing their arms and liorscs in terms of a liite act of
parliament. In pursuance of this order, Mr Hepburn of Humble, and
Doctor Sinclair of Heruiandston, two of the deputy lieutenants, resolved
to jro the morning after the instructions were issued, to the house of
Mr Hepburn of Keith, a zealous Jacobite, against whom they appear to
have entertained hostile feelings. Dr Sinclair accordingly appeared
next morning with a party of armed men at the place where Hepburn of
Humbie had agreed to meet him ; but as the latter did not appear at
the appointed hour, the doctor proceeded towards Keith with his at-
tendants. On their way to Keith, Hepburn enjoined his party, in case
of resistance, not to fire till they sliould be first fired at by Mr Hepburn
of Keith or his party ; and on arriving near the house he reiterated these
instructions. When the arrival of Sinclair and his party was announ-
ced to Mr Hepburn of Keith, the latter at once suspecting the cause,
immediately demanded inspection of the doctor's orders. Sinclair,
thereupon, sent forward a servant with the marquis of Tweeddale's com-
mission, who, finding the gates shut, offered to show the commission to
Hepburn at the dining room window. On being informed of the nature
of the commission, Hepburn signified the utmost contempt at it, and
furiously exclaiming, " God damn the doctor and the marquis both,"
disappeared. The servant thinking that Mr Hepburn had retired
for a time to consult with his friends before inspecting the commission,
remained before the inner gate waiting for his return. But instead
of coming back to receive the commission, Hepburn and his friends
immediately mounted their horses, and whilst his daughters, who
seem to have partaken of the Jacobite fervour of their father, were
calling out to one another that they should soon see very fine sport,
old Keith, after ordering the gates to be thrown open, sallied out with his
company, and instantly discharging a pistol at the servant, which wounded
him in two places, he rode up to tlie doctor who was standing near
the outer gate, and after firing another pistol at him, attacked him
sword in hand and wounded him In the head. Sinclair's party, in terms
of their instructions, immediately returned the fire, and Mr Hepburn's
younger son was unfortunately killed on the spot. Hepburn and his
party, disconcerted by this event, instantly galloped otf towards the
Borders and joined the Jacobite standard. The death of young Hep-
burn, who was the first person who fell in the insurrection of seventeen
hundred and fifteen, highly incensed the Jacobites, who longed for an
opportunity, which was soon afforded them, of punishing its author,
Dr Sinclair.*

Whilst Mr Forster was thus employed in Northumberland, the earl
of Kenmure, who had received a commission from the earl of Mar to

• Riie, p. 21.3—216.
II. 2o

290 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

raise the Jacobites in the south of Scotland, was assembling his friends on
the Scottish border. Early in October he had held private meetings with
some of them, at which it had been resolved to make an attempt upon
Dumfries, which they expected to surprise before the friends of the go-
vernment there should be aware of their design; but the magistrates were
put on their guard on the eighth of October by a letter from Loclier-
bridge Hill, on which day alio Cockburn, the lord-justice-clerk, sent
an express to the provost of the town with similar intelligence. Lord
Kenmure first appeared in arms, at the head of one hundred and fifty
horse, on the eleventh of October at Moffat, where he proclaimed the
Chevalier, on the evening of which day he was joined by the earl of
Winfoun and fourteen attendants. Next day he proceeded to Lochma-
ben, where he also proclaimed " the Pretender " Alarmed at his ap-
proach, the magistrates of Dumfries ordered the drums to beat to arms,
and for several days the town exhibited a scene of activity and military
bustle perfectly ludicrous, when the trifling force with which it was
threatened is considered. Kenmure advanced within two miles of the
town, but being informed of tlie preparations which had been made
to receive him, he returned to Lochmaben. He thereupon marched to
Ecclefechan, where he was joined by Sir Patrick Maxwell of Spring-
kell, with fourteen horsemen, and thence to Langholm, and afterwards
to Hawick, where he proclaimed the Chevalier. On the seventeenth of
October, Kenmure marched to Jedburgh, with the intention of proceeding
to Kelso, and there also proclaimed the prince ; but learning that
Kelso was protected by a party under the command of Sir William
Bennet of Grubbct, he crossed the Border with the design of forming
a junction with Forster.*

We must now direct attention to the measures taken by the earl
of Mar in compliance with the request of Mr Forster and his friends
to send them a body of foot. As Mar had not resolution to attempt
the passage of the Forth, which, with the forces under his coramanil,
he could have easily eti'ected, he had no other way of reinforcing the
Engli^h Jacobites, than by attempting to transport a part of his army
across the Frith of Forth. As there were several English men-of-war
in the Frith, the idea of sending a body of two thousand men across
such an extensive arm of the sea appeared chimerical ; yet, nevertheless.
Mar resolved upon this bold and hazardous attempt.

To command this adventurous expedition, the Jacobite general pitched
upon Old Borlum, as Brigadier Mackintosh was familiarly called, who
readily undertook, with the assistance of the earl of Panmure, and other
able officers, to perform a task which few men, even of experience, would
have undertaken without a grudge. For this hazardous service, a
picked body of two thousand men were selected, consisting of the
whole of the Mackintoshes, and the greater part of ^L1r's own regi

• Rae. Failliful liegislcr of tlir late Uebellion. Lniiiluii, I7IS.

MACKINTOSH CROSSES THE FKlTll OF FOKJH. 291

uient, and of the regiments of the earl of Strathmore, Lord Nairne, Lord
Charles Murray, and Drummond of Logie-Druiumond. To avoid tiie
jiicn-of-war, wiiicli were statioiud between Leith and Burntisland, it
was arranged that the expedition should embark at Crail, Pittenweeni,
and Ely, three small towns near the mouth of the Frith, whither the
troops were to proceed with the utmost seerecy and expedition by the
nio=.t unfrequented ways through the interior of Fife. At same time, to
amuse the ships of war, it was concerted that another select body of
one hundred men should openly march across the country to Burnt-
island, seize upon the boats in the harbour, and make preparations as
if tliey intended to cross the Frith. With remarkable foresight. Mar
gave orders that the expedition should embark with the flowing of the
tide, that in case of detection, the ships of war should be oljstructed
by it in their pursuit down the Frith.

Accordingly, on the ninth or tenth of October, both detachments,
consisting of two thousand five hundred men, left Perth escorted by
a body of horse under the command of Sir John Areskine of Alva,
the master of Sinclair, and Sir James Sharp, grandson of Arch-
bishop Sharp of St Andrews, and whilst the main body proceeded in
a south-easterly direction, through the district of Filt? bordering
upon the Tay, so as to pass unobserved by the men-of-war, the other
division marched directly across the country down to Burntisland, where
tliey made a feint as if preparing to embark in presence of the ships of
war, which then lay at anchor in Leith Roads. When the commanders
of these vessels observed the motions of the insurgents, they manned
their boats and despatched them across to attack them should they ven-
tm-e out to sea, and slipping their cables they stood over with their ves-
scls to the Fife shore to support their boats. As the boats and ships
approached, the insurgents, who had already partly embarked, returned
on shore; and those on land proceeded to erect a battery, as if
Ibr the purpose of covering the embarkation. An interchange of
shots then took place without damage on either side, till night put
an end to hostilities. In the meantime, Brigadier Mackintosh had
arrived at the different stations fixed for his embarkation, at the
distance of nearly twenty miles from the ships of war, and was actively
engaged in shipping his men in boats which had been previously secured
for their reception by his friends in these quarters. The first divi-
sion crossed the same night, being Wednesday the twelfth of October,
and the second followed next morning. When almost half across the
channel, which, between the place of embarkation and the opposite coast,
is about sixteen or seventeen miles broad, the fleet of boats was descried
from the topmasts of the men-of-war, and the commanders then per-
ceived, for the first time, the deception which had been so successfully
practised upon them by the detachment at Burntisland. Unfortunately,
at the time they made this discovery, both wind and tide were against
Uieiu ; but they sent out their boats fully manned, which succeeded

292 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

however, in capturing only two boats with forty men, who were car-
ried into Leith, and comiuitted to jail. As soon as the tide changed,
the men-of-war proceeded down the Frith, in pursuit, but they came
too late, and the whole boats, with the exception of eight, (which
being far behind, took refuge in the isle of May, to avoid capture,}
reached the opposite coast in perfect safety, and disembarked their men
at Gullan, North Berwick, Aberlady, and places adjacent. The
number carried over amounted to about sixteen hundred. Those
wlio were driven into the isle of Maj-, amounting to two hundred, after
remaining therein a day or two, regained the Fife coast, and returned
to the camp at Perth.*

The news of Mackintosh's landing occasioned a dreadful consterna-
tion at Edinburgh, where the friends of tlie government, astonished at
the boldness of the enterprise, and the extraordinary success which had
attended it, at once conjectured that the brigadier would march directly
upon the capital, where he had many friends, and from which he was
only sixteen miles distant. As the city was at this time wholly unpro-
vided w itli the means of defence, Campbell, the provost, a warm partKan
of tiie government, adopted the most active measures for putting it
in a defensive state. The well afl'ected among the citizens formed
themselves into a body for its defence, under the name of the Associate
Volunteers, and these, with the city guards and trained bands, had dif-
ferent posts assigned them, which they guarded with great care and vi-
gilance. Even the ministers of the city, to show an example to the lay
citizens, joined the ranks of the armed volunteers. The provost, at same
time, sent an express to the duke of Argyle, requesting him to send,
without delay, a detachment of regular troops to support the citizens.

After the brigadier had mustered his men on landing, he marched to
Haddington, in which he took up his quarters for the night to refresh his
troops, and wait for the remainder of his detachment, which he expected
would follow. According to Mackintosh's instructions, he should have
marched directly for England, to join the insurgents in Northumberland,
hut having received intelligence of the consternation which prevailed at
Edinburgh, and urged, it is believed, by pressing solicitations from some
of the Jacobite inhabitants to advance upon the capital, he, lured by the
eclat which its capture would confer upon his arms, and the obvious advan-
tages which would thence ensue, marched rapidly towards Edinburgh the
follow iiig morning. He arrived in the evening of the same day, Friday,
fourteenth of October, at Jock's Lodge, about a mile from the city,
where, being informed of the measures which had been taken to defend
it, and that the duke of Argyle was hourly expected from Stirling
with a reinforcement, he immediately halted, and called a council of
war. After a short consultation, they resolved, in the meantime, to take
possession of Leith : j\laekintosh, accordingly, turning otf his men to Hit

• AiiTiaK of George I. p. S9 91. riitten, [i 8. 9.

OCCUPATION OF LEIlll BY rilK INSURGENTS. 21)3

r'f^ht, marclicd into the town without opposition. He immediately re-
leased fiom jail tlie forty men wlio had been taiten prisoners liy tlie boats
of the nicn-of-war, and seized a considerable quantity of brandy and
provisions, wliidi he found in the custom-house. Tliereafter, crossing
over the bridge into Nortli Leitli, lie quartered his men for the night
in the citadel which had been built by Oliver Cromwell. This fort,
which was of a square form, with four demi-bastions, and surrounded
by a large dry ditch, was now in a very dismantled state, though all
the outworks, with the exception of the gates, were entire. Within the
walls were several houses, built for the convenience of sea-bathing,
and which served the new occupants in lieu of barracks. To supply
the want of gates, Mackintosh formed barricades of beams, planks, and
of carts filled with caith and stone and other materials, and seizing six
or eight pieces of cannon which he found in some vessels in the harbour,
he planted two of them at the north end of the draw-bridge, and the
remainder upon the ramparts of the citadel. Within a few hours, there-
l()re, after he had entered Leith, Mackintosh was fully prepared to with-
; tand a siege, should the duke of Argyle venture to attack him.

Whilst Mackintosh was in full march upon the capital from the east,
the duke of Argyle was advancing upon it with greater rapidity from the
west, at the head of four hundred dragoons and two hundred foot,
mounted, for the sake of greater expedition, upon farm-horses. He en-
tered the city by the west port about ten o'clock at night, and was joined
by the horse militia of Lothian and the Merse witli a good many volun-
teers, both horse and foot, who, with the marquis of Tweeddale, the
Lord Belhaven, and others, had retired into Edinburgh on the approach
of tiie insurgents. These, with the addition of the city guard and vo-
lunteers, increased his force to nearly twelve hundred men. With this
body the duke marched down towards Leith next morning, Saturday,
fifteenth of October ; but before he reached the town many of the
'• brave gentlemen volunteers,"* whose courage had waxed cold while
contemplating the probable consequences of encountering in deadly strife
the determined band to which they were to be opposed, slunk out of the
ranks and retired to their homes. On arriving near the citadel, Argyle
posted the dragoons and foot on opposite sides, and along with
Generals Evans and Wightman, proceeded to reconnoitre the fort on the
sea side. Thereafter, he sent in a summons to the citadel requiring the
rebels to surrender under the pain of high treason, and declaring that if
fhey obliged him to employ cannon to force them, and killed any of his
men in resisting him, he would give them no quarter. To this message
the laird of Kynnachin, a gentleman of Athole, returned this resolute
answer, that as to surrendering they did not understand the word, which
cnuld therefore only excite laughter — that if his grace thought he Mas
able to make an assault, he might try, but he would find that they were

294 HISTOR7 OF THi; HIGHLAS'DS.

fully prepared to meet it ; and as to quarter they were resolved, in case of
attack, neither to take nor to give any.

This answer was followed by a discharge from the cannon on the
ramparts, the balls from which grazing among the horses' feet, made
Arg3le soon perceive the mistake he had committed in advancing with-
out cannon, of which he had not taken down with him a single piece.
Had his force been equal and even numerically superior to that of
Mackintosh, he could not have ventured without almost certain destruc-
tion, to have carried the citadel sword in hand, as he found that before
his men could reach the foot of the wall or the barricaded positions,
they would probably have been exposed co five fires from the besieged,
which, at a moderate computation, would have cut off one half of his men.
His cavalry, besides, on account of the nature of the ground, could have
been of little use in an assault; and as, under such circumstances, an at-
tack was considered impracticable, the duke retired to Edinburgh in the
evening to make the necessary preparations for a siege. While deliber-
ating on the expediency of making an attack, some of the volunteers ap-
peared to be very zealous for it, but on being informed that it belonged
to them as volunteers to lead the way, they became extremely pacific,
and heartily approved of the duke's proposal to defer the attempt till a
more seasonable opjiortunity.*

Had the earl of Mar been apprized in due time of Mackintosh's ad-
vance upon Edinburgh, and of the duke of Argyle's departure from
Stirling, he would probably have marched towards Stirling, and might
have crossed the Forlh above the bridge of Stirling, without any very
serious opposition from the small force stationed in the neiglibourliood ;
but he received the intelligence of the brigadier's movement too late ti-
make it available, had he been inclined ; and it appears that he had re-
solved not to cross the Forth till joined by General Gordon's detach-
ment.f The earl considered the march from Haddington to Leith " an
unlucky mistake ;"J but he had really no cause to complain.

On returning to Edinburgh, the duke of Argyle gave orders for the
removal of some pieces of cannon from the castle to Leith, with the in-
ti-ntion of making an assault upon the citadel the following morning
with the whole of his force, including the dragoons, which he liad re-
S')lved to dismount for the occasion. But he was saved the necessity
of such a hazardous attempt by the insurgents evacuating the place the
same night. Old Borlum, seeing no chance of obtaining possession ol
Edinburgh, and considering that the occupation of the citadel, even if
tenable, was not of sufficient importance to employ such a large body
of men in its defence, had resolved, shortly after the departure of the
duke, to abandon the place, and to retrace his steps without delay, and
with all the secrecy in his power. Two hours before his departure, lie

• Rae, p. 263. t Letter to Mr Forslcr, 21st Octolier, 1715. I I.ilier fn.ro

Mar to Viscount Keiunure. dated from the camp at Perth, October 21, 171&

EVACUATIOS OF LF.ITH. 295

dent a boat across the Frith with despatches to the earl of Mar, giving
hira a detail of his proceedings since his landing, and informing him of his
intention to retire. To deceive the men-of-«ar whicli lay at, anchor in
the Roads, he caused several shots to be fired at tlie boat which carried
the despatches after her departure from the harbour, which had the de-
sired effect, as the officers in connnand of the ships, thinking the buat
had some friends of the governmiMit on board, a'lowed her to pursue her
course without obstruction.

At nine o'clock at night, every thing being in readiness, Mackintosh,
favoured by the darkness of the night and low water, left the citadel
secretly, and pursuing his course along the beach, crossed, without
observation, the small rivulet, which runs through the harbour at low
water, and which was then about knee deep, and passing tlie point of
tiie pier, pursued his route south-eastward along the sands of Leith. At
his departure, Mackintosli was obliged to leave about forty men beliind
him, who having made too free with the brandy which had been found
in the custom-house, were not in a condition to march. These, with
some stragglers who lagged behind, were afterwards taken prisoners by
a detachment of Argyle's forces, which also captured some baggage and
ammunition.

On arriving near Musselburgh, the insurgents were fired upon by
some persons on horseback from the adjoining end of the town, bu^
without receiving any injury. This circumstance, as it made the High-
landers look upon every horseman as an enemy, was productive of a
melancholy accident, which befel Alexander Malloch of Mutrieshill, who
had just joined the rebels. This gentleman, while riding on horseback,
was challenged by a Highlander in Gaelic, and being unable to answer
him, was instantly shot dead upon the spot by the interrogator. Mack-
intosh, who could not fail to feel grieved at this unfortunate accident,
was in too great haste to spend time in the rites of sepulture, and think-
ing probabh' that the monej' about the person of the deceased was in
better keeping with him than with any friend of the government, he
appropriated about sixty guineas, which he found in the pockets of the
deceased, and left the corpse behind. A similar accident occurred after
they had advanced a mile from Musselburgh, where, alarmed by some
fifing in front, a rear party fired upon the front and killed a sergeant
belonging to Mar's regiment, and a common soldier.

The Highlanders continued their march during the night, and ar-
rived at two o'clock in the morning of Sunday, the sixteenth of Octo-
ber, at Seaton-House, the seat of the earl of Wintoun, who had already
joined the Viscount Kenraure, where, during the day, they were joined
by a small party of their friends, who had crossed the Frith some time
after the body which marched to Leith had landed, and who, from having
disembarked farther to the eastward, had not been able to reach their com-
panions before their departure for the capital. As soon as the duke
cf Argyle heard of Mackintosh's retreat, and that he had taken up a

29f) HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

position in Seaton-HoUse, which was encompassed by a very strong
and high stone wall, he resolved to follow him and besiege him in his
new quarters. To work some cannon and mortars which he intended
to remove from the castle of Edinburgh, he sent an e.xpress to Stirling
for some gunners and bombardiers, and, in the meantime, despatched a
detachment of dragoons, and a body of volunteer horse to reconnoitre
tlie enemy and watch their motions. But the duke of Argyle was pre-
vented from carrying his design against Seaton-house into execution,
by receiving intelligence that Mar was advancing upon Stirling with the
intention of crossing the Forth.

Being apprized, by the receipt of Mackintosh's despatch from Leith,
of the Brigadier's design to march to the south, Mar had resolved, with
the view principally of facilitating his retreat from Leith, to make a
movement upon Stirling, and thereby induce the duke of Argyle to
return to the camp in the Park with the troops which he had carried to
Edinburgh. Mar, accordingly, left Perth on Monday the seventeenth
of October, and General Whitham, the commander of the roj-alist
forces at Stirling in Argyle's absence, having on the previous day re-
ceived notice of Mar's intention, immediately sent an express to the
duke begging him to return to Stirling immediately, and bring back the
forces he had taken with him to Edinburgh. The express reached
•Edinburgh at an early hour on Monday morning, and the duke, aban-
doning ids design upon Seaton-Jiouse, left Edinburgh for Stirling about
noon on Monday, leaving behind him only a hundred dragoons and
one hundred and fifty foot under General Wightman. The duke ar-
rived at Stirling about eight o'clock at night, and was informed that
Mar was to be at Dunblane next morning with his whole army, amount-
ing to nearly ten thousand men.*

The arrival of his Grace was most opportune, for Mar had in fact ad-
vanced the same evening, with all his horse, to Dunblane, little more than
six miles from Stirling, and his foot were only a short way off from the
latter place. Whether Mar would have really attempted the passage of
the Forth but for the intelligence he received next morning, is very
problematical ; but having been informed early on Tuesday of the
duke's return, and of the arrival of Evans's regiment of dragoons
from Ireland, he resolved to return to Perth. In a letter which he
wrote to Mr Forster from Perth on the twenty-first of October,
after alluding to the information he had received, he gives as an ad-
ditional reason for this determination, that he had left Perth before
provisions could be got ready for his army, and that he found all the
country about Stirling, where he meant to pass the Forth, so entirely
exhausted by the enemy that he could find nothing to subsist upon.
Besides, from a letter he had received from General Gordon, he found
the latter could not possibly join him that week, and he could not think

• Amials of Ceorgi: I. p. 99. Patten, p. IS. liae, p. £66.

MARCH OF MACKINTOSH TO THE BORDERS. 297

of passing the Forth, under the circumstances detailed, till joined by
him. Under these difBculties, and having accomplished one of the ob-
jects of his march, by withdrawing the duke of Argyle from the pursuit
of his friends in Lothian, he had thought fit, he observes, to march back
from Dunblane to Auchterardcr, and thence back to Perth, there to wait
for Gordon and the earl of Seaforth, where he had accordingly arrived
on the preceding night.

Mackintosh, in expectation probably of an answer to his despatch
from Lcitli, appeared to be in no hurry to leave Seaton-house,
where his men fared sumptuously upon the best which the neighbour-
iiood could aflbrd. As all communication was cut off between him
and tlie capital by the hundred dragoons which Argyle had left be-
hind, and a party of three hundred gentlemen-volunteers under the
command of the earl of Rothes, who patrolled in the neighbourhood
of Seaton-house, Mackintosh was in complete ignorance of Argyle's
departure from the capital, and of Mar's march. This was fortunate,
as it seems probable tliat had the Brigadier been aware of these cir-
cumstances, he would have again advanced upon the capiial and might
have captured it. During the three days that Mackintosh lay in Seaton-
liouse, no attempt was, of course, made to dislodge him from his posi-
tion, but he was subjected to some petty annoyances by the volunteers
and dragoons, between whom and the Highlanders some occasional shots
were interchanged without damage on either side. Having deviated
from the line of instructions, Mackintosh appears to have been anxious,
before proceeding south, to receive from Mar such new or additional
directions as a change of circumstances might require. Mar lost no
time in replying to Borlum's communication, and on Tuesday the
(iighteenth of October a boat was descried from Seaton-house making
its way across the Frith from the Fife coast. This boat had attracted
the notice of the commanders of the men-of-war, who rightly suspect-
i'lg its destination, kept up a fire at her, but by keeping far to wind-
ward, she escaped and arrived safe at the small harbour of Port-
Seaton. This boat, the same that carried over Mackintosh's despatch,
brought an answer from Mar, desiring him to march immediately to-
wards England and form a junction near the borders with the English
Jacobite forces under Mr Forster, and those of the south of Scotland
under Lord Kenmure. On the same day. Mackintosh received a de-
spatch from Mr Forster, requesting him to meet him without delay at
Kelso or Coldstream.*

To give effect to these instructions. Mackintosh left Seaton-house next
morning, and proceeded across the country towards Longlbrmaclius,
which he reached that night. Doctor Sinclair, the proprietor of Her-
mandston-house, had incurred the Brigadier's displeasure by his treat-
ment of the laird of Keith, to revenge which he threatened to burn

• Patten, p. 20.

2 p

2"jy HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Sinclair's mansion in passing it on his way south, but he was prevented
I'iom carrying his threat into execution by the entreaties of IMr MiUei
of Mugdrum, major of his regiment, and Mr Menzies of Woodend.
He, however, ordered his soldiers to plunder the house, a mandate which
they obeyed with the utmost alacrity. When Major-General Wight-
man heard of Mackintosh's departure, he marched from Edinburgh
with some dragoons, militia and volunteers, and took possession of
Seaton-house. After demolishing the wall which surrounded it, he re-
turned to Edinburgh in the evening, carrying along with him some
Higlilanders who had lagged behind or deserted from Mackintosh on his
march.*

Mackintosh took up his quarters at Longformachus durfng the night,
and continued his march next morning to Dunse, where he arrived
during the day and proclaimed the Chevalier. Here Mackintosh
halted two days, and on the morning of Saturday, the twenty-second of
October, set out on his march to Kelso, the appointed place of rendez-
vous, whither the Northumbrian forces under Forster were marching
the same day. Sir William Bennet of Grubbet and his friends hearing
of the approach of these two bodies, left the town the preceding niglit,
and, after dismissing their followers, retired to Edinburgh. The united
forces of Foister and Kenmure entered Kelso about one o'clock on
Saturday. The Highlanders had not then arrived, but hearing that
they were not far otT, the Scottish cavalry, to mark their respect for the
bravery the Highlanders had shown in crossing the Frith, marched out
as far as Ednam bridge to meet them, and accompanied them into the
town about three o'clock in the afternoon, amidst the martial sounds
of bagpipes. Tiie forces under Mackintosh now amounted to fourteen
hundred foot and six hundred horse ; but a third of the latter consisted
of menial servants.

The following day, being Sunday, was entirely devoted by the Jaco-
bites to religious duties. Patten the historian of the insurrection, an
episcopal minister and one of their chaplains, in terms of instructions
from Lord Kenmure, who had the command of the troops while in
Scotland, preached in the morning in the Great church of Kelso, for-
merly the abbey of David the First, to a mixed congregation of catho-
lics, presbyterians and episcopalians, from Deuteronomy xxi. 17. " The
right of the first-born is his."f Tiie prayers on this occasion were
read by Mr Buxton, formerly alluded to. In the afternoon Mr
William Irvine, an old Scottish episcopalian minister, chaplain to the
earl of Carnwath, read prayers and delivered a sermon full of exhorta-
tions to his hearers to be zealous and steady in the cause of the Cheva-

* Patten, p. 20. Annals of George I. p. 101-

t " All the lords that were protestants, with a vast niullitiule of people, attended ; It

was very agreeable to see how decently and reverently the very common Highlanders

behaved, and answcied the responses aicoriliiig to the Rubrick, to the shame of many

that pretend to more polite breeding." — Patten, p. 40.

DISPUTES BBTWBEN THE SCOTTISH AND ENGLISH INSURGENTS. 299

lier. This discourse, lie afterwards told liis colleague, Mr Patten, he
liad formerlj' preached in the Highlands about twenty six years before
in presence of Lord Viscount Dundee and his army.

Next morning the Highlanders were drawn up in the church-yard,
and thence marched to the market-cross with colours flying, drums
beating, and bagpipes playing. They there formed a circle round the
lords and gentlemen. Within this circle another was formed of the
gentlemen volunteers. Silence being enjoined, and a trumpet sounded,
Seaton of Barnes, who claimed the vacant title of earl of Dunfermline,
read a proclamation, declaring the Chtvalier, as James VHI. lawful
king over Scotland, England, and Ireland. After finishing the proclama-
tion, he read the manifesto quoted in the conclusion of last chapter, at
the end of which the people with loud acclamations shouted, " No
union I no malt-tax I no salt-tax." When this ceremony was over,
the Highlanders returned to their quarters.*

The insurgents remained three days in Kelso, which were chiefly
occupied in searching for arms and plundering the houses of some of
the loyalists in the neighbourhood. Thoy took possession of some
pieces of cannon which had been brought by Sir William Bennet from
Hume Castle for the defence of the town, and which had formerly been
employed to protect that ancient strong-hold against the attacks of the
English. They also seized some broad swords which they found in tlie
church, and a small quantity of gunpowder. Whilst at Kelso, Mack-
intosh seized the public revenue, as was his uniform custom in every
town through which he passed.

During their stay at Kelso, the insurgents seem to have come to no
determination as to future operations ; but the arrival of General Car-
penter with three regiments of dragoons, and a regiment of foot, at
Wooler, forced them to resolve upon something decisive. Lord Ken-
mure, thereupon, called a council of war to deliberate upon the course
to be pursued. According to the opinions of the principal officers,
there were three ways of proceeding. The first, which was strongly
urged by the earl of Wintoun, was to march into the west of Scot-
land, to reduce Dumfries and Glasgow, and thereafter to form a junc-
tion with the western clans, under General Gordon, to open a com-
munication with the earl of Mar, and threaten the duke of Argyle's
rear. The second was to give battle immediately to General Car-
penter, who had scarcely a thousand men under him, the greater part
of whom consisted of newly raised levies, who had never seen any
service. This plan was supported by Mackintosh, who was so intent
upon it, that, sticking his pike in the ground, he declared that he would
not stir, but would wait for General Carpenter and fight him, as he was
sure there would be no difficulty in beating him. The last plan, which
was that of the Northumberland gentlemen, was to march directly

• Patten, p. 40.

300 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

through Cumberland and Westmoreland into Lancashire, where the
Jocabite interest was very powerful, and where they expected to be
joined by groat numbers of the people. Old Borlura was strongly op-
posed to this view, and pointed out the risk which they would run, il
met by an opposing force, which they might calculate upon, while
General Carpenter was left in their rear. He contended, that if they
succeeded in defeating Carpenter, they would soon be able to fight
any other troops, — that if Carpenter should beat them, they had
already advanced far enough, and that they would be better able,
in the event of a reverse, to shift for themselves in Scotland than in
England.*

Either of the two first-mentioned plans w as far preferable to the last,
even had the troops been disposed to adopt it ; but the aversion of
the Highlanders, from different considerations, to a campaign in Eng-
land, was almost insuperable ; and nothing could mark more strongly
the fatuity of the Northumberland Jacobites, than to insist, under
these circumstances, upon marching into England. But they per-
tinaciously adhered to their opinion, and, by doing so, may be truly
said to have ruined the cause which they had combined to support. As
the comparatively small botly of troops under Argyle was the only force
in Scotland from which the insurgents had any thing to dread, their
whole attention should have been directed in the first place to that body,
which could not have withstood the combined attacks of the forces which
the rebels had in the field, which amounted to about sixteen thousand
men. The duke of Argyle must have been compelled, had the three
divisions of the insurgent army made a simultaneous movement upon
Stirling, to have hazarded a battle, and the result would very probably
have been disastrous to his arms. Had such an event occurred, the
insurgents would have immediately become masters of the whole of
Scotland, and would soon have been in a condition to have cairied the
war into England with every hope of success.

Amidst the confusion and perplexity occasioned by these differences
of opinion, a sort of medium course was in the mean time resolved upon,
till the chiefs of the army should reconcile their divisions. The plan
agreed upon was, that they should, to avoid an immediate rencounter
with General Carpenter, decamp from Kelso, and proceed along the
border in a south-westerly direction towards Jedburgh ; and, according-
ly, on Thursday the twenty-seventh day of October, the insurgents
proceeded on their march. The disagreement which had taken place
had cooled their military fervour, and a feeling of dread, at the idea of
being attacked by Carpenter's force, soon began to display itself.
Twice, on the march to Jedburgh, were they thrown into a state of alarm,
by mistaking a party of their own men for the troops of General Car-
penter. The mistake being soon discovered, in the first instance, little

• Aiuials of 2(1 year of George I. p. 123. ratten, p. 53. Gi C5.

MUTINY AMONG THE HIGHLANDERS. 301

disorder ensued ; but the last created much confusion, and strikingly ex-
hibited the effects of fear, even upon resolute minds, when labouring
under a temporary depression. The horse preceded the foot, and ar-
rived at Jedburgh wlun the latter were yet distant two miles from the
town. A party of the foot, which had been sent up Tweedside, was
observed by their main body, when on the high road between
Kelso and Jedburgh, crossing a moor on their right, which being again
taken for Carpenter's troops, they sent an express to Jedburgh, requir-
ing the support of the horse. Lord Kennmre, Brigadier Mackintosh,
and the other principal officers, were standing together when this mes-
sage was delivered ; but being uttered very indistinctly by the messen-
ger, a gentleman present conceiving that Lord Lumley, who command-
ed the light horse of Northumberland, had attacked the Highlanders,
instantly mounted his horse and galloped through the streets, shouting
aloud, " Mount, gentlemen, mount I Lumley is upon the foot cutting
them to pieces I" This announcement produced the utmost consterna-
tion among the horse, some of whom, from an apprehension of being
made prisoners, tore the cockades from their hats, while others abscond-
ed and concealed themselves in the most secret places in the town.
The greater part, however, mounted their horses, and went out to
join the foot ; but so alarmed were many even of these, at the idea
of encountering the government forces, that, according to one writer,*
they wept like children. f If this statement be well founded, these men
fully redeemed their character by the gallant defence they afterwards
made at Preston.

Instead of advancing upon Jedburgh, as they supposed Carpenter
would have done, the insurgents ascertained that he had taken a dif-
ferent direction in entering Scotland, and that from their relative
positions, they were considerably in advance of him in the proposed
route into England. The English officers thereupon again urged their
views in council, and insisted upon them with such earnestness, that Old
Borlum was induced, though with great reluctance, and not till after very
high words had been exchanged, to yield. Preparatory to crossing the
Borders, they despatched one Captain Hunter (who, from following the
profession of a horse-stealer on the Borders, was well acquainted with the
neighbouring country,) across the hills, to provide quarters for the array
in North Tynedale ; but he had not proceeded far, when an order was
sent after him countermanding his march, in consequence of a mutiny
among the Highlanders, who refused to march into England. The
English horse, after expostulating with them, threatened to surround

• R;io.
t It is singular that Patten, wlio was an eye witness, is silent aa to this matter. He
says, that although the horse were put into tiie " utmost consternation," they, nevertheless,
" not being discouraged so as to abandon their fellows, they all mounted their horses and
marched out to relieve iheir friends." He adds, that on the mistake being discovered
they returned to their quarters **worse frighted than hurt.''

802 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

them and compel them to march ; but Maokititosh informed them that
he would not allow his men to be so treated, and the Highlanders
themselves despising the threat, gave them to understand that they
would resist the attempt *

The determination, on the part of the Highlanders, not to march into
England, staggered the English gentlemen ; but as they saw no hopes
of inducing their northern allies to enter into their views, they con-
sented to waive their resolution in the meantime, and by mutual con-
sent the army left Jedburgh on the twenty-ninth of October for Hawick,
a town on the Scottish side of the border, lying about ten miles south-
west from Jedburgh. During their stay at the latter place, tlie High-
landers were provided with a supply of oatmeal, levied upon the inhabi-
tants, according to their respective abilities, under the inspection of the
magistrates. While on the march to Hawick, a fresh mutiny broke
out among the Highlanders, who, suspecting that the march to England
was still resolved upon, separated themselves from the rest of the
army, and going up to the top of a rising ground on Hawick-moor,
grounded their arms, declaring, at same time, that although they were
determined not to march into England, they were ready to fight the
enemy on Scottish ground. Should the chiefs of the army decline to
lead tliem against Carpenter's forces, they proposed, agreeably to tlie
earl of Wintoun's advice, either to march through the west of Scotland
and join the clans under General Gordon, by crossing the Forth above
Stirling, or to co-operate with the earl of Mar, by falling upon the
duke of Argyle's rear, while Mar himself should assail him in front.
But the English officers would listen to none of these propositions, and
again threatened to surround them with the horse and force them to
march. The Highlanders, exasperated at this menace, cocked their
pistols, and told their imprudent colleagues that if they were to be made
a sacrifice, they would prefer being destroyed in their own country. By
the interposition of the earl of Wintoun a reconciliation was effected, and
the insurgents resumed their march to Hawick, on the understanding
that the Highlanders should not be again required to march into Eng-
land.-j-

The insurgents passed the night at Hawick, during which tiie courage
of the Highlanders was put to the test, by the appearance of a party of
horse, which was observed patroling in their front by their advanced
posts. On the alarm being given, the Highlanders immediately flew to
arms, and forming themselves in very good order by moonlight, waited
with firmness the expected attack ; but tlie affair turned out a false
iilarm, purposely got up, it is believed, by the English commanders, to
try how the Highlanders would conduct themselves, should an enemy
a])pear.| At Hawick a quantity of cockades, consisting of blue and

Aiiii.ilsof Uie2d yeaiof George I. p. 128. + Palteii, p. 67, 68. Rae, p. 271, 272.
} Patten, p. 69*

MARCH OF THE INSURGENTS INTO ENGLAND. 303

white ribbons, was made for the Scotch, to distinguish them Irom the
English insurgents, who wore red and white cockades.* Next raorninj^,
being Sunday, the thirtieth of October, the rebels marched from Hawick
to Langholm, about which time General Carpenter entered Jedburgh.
Tiiey arrived at Langholm in the evening, and with the view, it is sup-
posed, of attacking Dumfries, they sent forward to Ecclefechan, during
the night, a detachment of four hundred horse, under the earl of Carn-
wath, for the purpose of blocking up Dumfries till the foot should come up.
This detachment arrived at Ecclefechan before day-light, and, after a
short halt, proceeded in the direction of Dumfries ; but they had not
advanced far, when they were met by an express from some of their
friends at Dumfries, informing them that great preparations had
been made for the defence of the town. The earl of Carnwath imme-
diately forwarded the express to Langholm, and, in the mean time, halted
his men on Blacket-ridge, a moor in the neighbourhood of Ecclefechan,
till further orders. The express was met by tlie main body of the army
about two miles west from Langholm, on its march to Dumfries.

The intelligence thus conveyed, immediately created another schism in
the army. The English, who had been prevailed upon, from the advan-
tages held out to the Jacobite cause by the capture of such an important
post as Dumfries, to accede to the proposal for attacking it, now resumed
their original intention of marching into England. The Highlanders,
on the other hand, insisted upon marching instantly upon Dumfries, which
they alleged might be easily taken, as there were no regular forces in it.
It was in vain that the advocates of this plan urged upon the English
the advantages to be derived from the possession of a place so conveni-
ent as Dumfries was, for receiving succours from France and Ireland,
and for keeping up a communication with England and their friends in
the west of Scotland. It was to no purpose they were assured, that
there were a great many arms and a good supply of powder in the
town, which they might secure, and that the duke of Argyle, whom
they appeared to dread, was in no condition to injure them, as he
had scarcely two thousand men under him, and was in daily expecta-
tion of being attacked by the earl of Mar, whose forces were then thrice
as numerous ; — these and similar arguments were entirely thrown away
upon men who had already determined at all hazards to adhere to their
resolution of carrying the war into England. To induce the Scottish com-
manders to concur in their views, they pretended that they had received
letters from their friends in Lancashire inviting them thither, and assur-
ing them that on their arrival a general insurrection would take place,
and that they would be immediately joine>.l by twenty thousand men,
and would have money and provisions in abundance. The advantages
of a speedy march into England being urged with extreme earnestness
by the English officers, all their Scottish associates, with the exception,

• Faithful Register of tl>« late Rebellion, p. 127

804 HISTORY OF THK HIGHLANDS.

of the earl of Wintoun, at last consented to try the chances of war on
the soil of England. Even Old Borluni, (who, at the time the parties
were discussing the point in dispute, was busily engaged at a distance
from the place where the main body had halted restraining a party of tlie
Highlanders from deserting,) yielded to the entreaties of tlie English
officers, and exerted all his influence to induce his men to follow his
example. By the aid of great promises and money, the greater part of the
Highlanders were prevailed upon to follow the fortunes of their command-
er, but about five hundred of them marched off in a boely to the north.
Before they reached Clydesdale, however, they were almost all made pri-
soners by the country people, and lodged in jail. The earl of Wintoun,
who was quite opposed to the measures resolved upon, also went off with
his adherents, but being overtaken by a messenger who was despatched
after him to remonstrate with him for abandoning his friends, he con-
sented to return, and immediately rejoined the array. When over-
taken, he drew up his horse, and, after a momentary pause, as if reflect-
ing on the judgment which posterity would form of his conduct, observed
with chivalrous feeling, that historj' should not have to relate of him that
he deserted King James's interest or his country's good, but with a
deep presentiment of the danger of the course his associates were about
to pursue, he added, " You," addressing the messenger, " or any man
shall have liberty to cut these (laying hold of his own ears as he spoke)
out of mj' head, if we do not all repent it."

Tiie insurgents, after spiking two pieces of cannon which they had
brought from Kelso, immediately proceeded on their march for Eng-
land, and entered Longtown in Cumberland the same night, where they
were joined by the detachment which had been sent to Ecclefechan the
previous night. On the following day, first of November, they marched
to Brampton, a small market town in Cumberland, where they pro-
claimed the Chevalier, and levied the excise duties on malt and ale.
Mr Forster now opened a commission which he had lately received from
the earl of Mar, appointing him general of the Jacobite forces in Eng-
land. As the men were greatly fatigued by forced marches, having
marched about one hundred miles in five successive days, they took up
their quarters at Brampton for the night to refresh themselves. When
General Carpenter heard that the insurgents had entered England, lie
left Jedburgh, and recrossing the hills into Northumberland, threw
himself between them and Newcastle, the seizure of which, he erroneously
supposed, was the object of their movement.

Next day the insurgents marched towards Penrith, on approaching
which they received intelligence that ihe posse comilatus o( Camhevlanii,
amounting to nearly fourteen thousand men, headed by the sheriff of the
county, and attended by Lord Lonsdale and the bishop of Carlisle, had
assembled near Penrith on the line of their march to oppose their ad-
vance. Mr, now General Forster, sent forward a party to reconnoitre,
hut he experienced no trouble from this immense rustic force, which

AnUIVAL OP THE INSURGENTS AT PRESTON.

305

broke up and dispersed in tlie utmost confusion on hearing of the approach
of the reconnoitering party. Patten, tlie historian of the rebellion, who
liad formerly been curate of Penrith, attempted, at the head of a ])arty
of horse, to intercept his superior, the bishop of Carlisle, but his lordship
escaped. The insurgents captured some horses and a large quantity of
arms, and also took several prisoners, who being soon released, expressed
their gratitude by shouting, " God save King James and prosper his
merciful army."* To impress the inhabitants of Penrith with a favour-
able idea of their strength and discipline, the insurgents halted upon a
moor in the neighbourhood, where they formed themselves in order of
battle, and thereafter entered the town in regular marching order. The
principal inhabitants, from an apprehension of being plundered, showed
great attention to them, in return for which, and the comfortable enter-
tainment w Inch they received, they abstained from doing any act which
could give offence. They however raised, according to custom, the
excise and other public duties.

Next day the insurgents marched to Appleby, where, as at Penrith,
they proclaimed the Chevalier and seized the public revenue. After
halting two days at this town, they resumed their march on the fifth of
November, and arrived at Kendal, where they took up their cpiartcrs
for the night. Next morning, being Sunday, they decamped from Ken-
dal, and after a short march reached Kirby Lonsdale, where, after pro-
claiming the Chevalier, they went to the church in the afternoon, where,
in absence of the parson, w ho had absconded, Mr Patten read prayers.
This author relates a singular instance of Jacobite zeal on the part of a
gentleman of the name of Guin, or Gwyn, who entered the churches
which lay in the route of the army and scratching out the name of King
George from the prayer books, substituted that of the Chevalier in its
stead, in a manner so closely resembling the print that the alteration
could scarcely be perceived.

The insurgents had now marched through two populous counties, but
they had obtained the accession of only two gentlemen to their ranks.
They would probably have received some additions in Cumberland and
Westmoreland, had not precautions been taken by the sheriffs of these
counties beforehand to secure the principal Catholics and lodge them in
the castle of Carlisle. Despairing of obtaining any considerable acces-
sion of force, seventeen gentlemen of Teviotdale had left the army al
Appleby, and the Highlanders, who had borne the fatigues of the marcli
with great fortitude, now began to manifest signs of impatience at the
disappointment they felt in nut being joined by large bodies of men as
they were led to expect. Their prospects, however, began to brighten
by the arrival of some Lancashire Catholic gentlemen and their servants
at Kirby Lonsdale, and by the receipt of intelligence the following day.

Letter about iliu Oo

p. 4.

noes un llie way to, iind at Tn

2u

I!y an E)e AViUiess^

306 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

when on their march to Lancaster, that the Jacobites of Lancashire wr-re
ready to join tiiem, and that the Chevalier had been proclaimed at Man-
chester. Tlie Higlilanders expressed their joy at this intelligence by
giving three cheers.*

The insurgents entered Lancaster without opposition, and instantly
marched to the market place, and proclaimed the Chevalier by
sound of trumpet, the whole body being drawn up round the cross.
After remaining two days at Lancaster, where the Highlanders regaled
themselves with claret and brandy found in the custom-house, they took
the road to Preston on Wednesday tlie ninth of November, with tiie
intention of possessing tliemselves of Warrington bridge and securing
Manchester, as preliminary to a descent upon Liverpool. The horse
reached Preston at night, two troops of Stanhope's dragoons and part o)
a militia regiment under Sir Henry Houghton, which were quartered in
tlie town, retiring to Wigan on their approach ; but owing to the bad-
ness of the road from a heavy rain which had fallen during the day,
the foot did not arrive till the following day, when the Chevalier was pro-
claimed at the cross with the usual formalities. On the march from
Lancaster to Preston, and after their arrival there, the insurgents were
joined by different parties of gentlemen, chiefly Catholics, with tiieir
tenants and servants, to the number of about fifteen hundred in all, by
which additions Forster's army was increased to nearly four thousand
men.

Forster, who had kept a strict watch upon Carpenter, and of w1io>p
movements he received regular accounts daily, was, however, utterly
ignorant of the proceedings of a more formidable antagonist, mIio, he
was made to understand by his Lancashire friends, was at too great a dis-
tance to prove dangerous. This was General Wills, who had the com-
mand in Cheshire, and who was now busily employed in concentrating
his forces for the purpose of attacking the rebels. Unfortunately for
them, the government had been induced, by the tumults and violences ol
the high-church party in the west of England during the preceding year,
to quarter bodies of troops to keep the disaffected districts in cheek,
which being disposed at Shrewsbury, Chester, Birmingham, Stafford,
Wolverhampton, Manchester, and other adjacent places, could be easily
assembled together on a short notice. On information being communi-
cated to the government of the invasion of England, General Wills had
been directed to collect all the forces he could and to march upon War-
rington bridge and Preston, to prevent the advance of the insurgents
upon Manchester.

General Wills had, accordingly, made great exertions to fulfil, without
delay, the instructions he had received, and hearing that General Car-
penter was at Durham, had sent an express to him to march westward ;
but he was uiial)le to save Preston. When the insurgents entrrtd this

ADVANCE OP GENERAL WILLS. 807

town Wills was at Maiicliester, waiting for tlie arrival of two regiraenta
of foot and a regiment of dragoons wliicli were within a few days' march
of liiiu ; but alarmed lest by delaying his march they might make them-
selves masters of Warrington bridge and Manchester, by the possession
of which they would increase their force and secure many other advan-
tages, he resolved instantly to march upon Preston with such troops as
he had. He left Manchester accordingly on Friday the eleventh of
November, for Wigan, with four regiments of dragoons, one of horse, and
Preston's regiment of foot, formerly known as the Cameronian regiment.
He arrived at Wigan in the evening, where he met Stanhope's dragoons
and Houglitoa's militia, who had retired from Preston on the evening
of the ninth. In the meantime, the inhabitants of Liverpool anticipat-
ing a visit from the insurgents, were actively employed in preparations
for its defence. Within three days they threw up a breastwork round
that part of the town approachable from the land side, on which they
mounted seventy pieces of cannon, and, to prevent the ships in the
harbour from falling into the hands of the enemy, they anchored them
in the olHng.

It was the intention of Forster to have left Preston on the morning
of Saturday the twelfth ; but the unexpected arrival of Wills at Wigan,
of which he received intelligence on the preceding night, made him
alter his design. Forster had been so elated by the addition which his
forces had received at Preston, that he affected to believe that Wills
would never venture to face him ; but old Mackintosh advised him not to
be too confident, as they might soon find it necessary to defend themselves.
Forster treated this advice very liglitly, but Mackintosh added, " No
matter, I tell you man, he (Wills) will attack, and beat us all, if we
do not look about us." Thereupon, observing from a window where
they stood, a party of the new recruits passing by, the veteran war-
rior thus contemptuously addressed the inexperienced chief, " Look
ye there, Forster, are yon fellows the men ye intend to fight Wills with.
Good faith, Sir, an' ye had ten thousand of them, I'd fight them all
with a thousand of his dragoons." In fact, a more uncouth and un-
Boldier-like body had never before appeared in the field, than these
Lancashire rustics ; some with rusty swords without muskets, others with
muskets without swords, some with fowling-pieces, others with pitch-
forks, while others were wholly unprovided with weapons of any sort.*
Forster now altered his tone; and if the report of a writer, who says he
was an eye-witness, be true, the news of Wills's advance quite unnerv-
ed him. Undetermined how to act, he sent the letter conveying the
intelligence to Lord Kenmure, and retired to rest. His lordship, with a
few of his officers, repaired to Forster's lodgings to consult him, and to
their surprise found him in bed, though the night was not far advanced.
The council, after some deliberation, resolved to send out a party of

• .Amials 01" 2d ic-ir uf Cieorgc 1., p. l.'jC.

308 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

horse towards Wigan, to watch the motions of the enemy, to secure the
pass into the town bj' Ribble bridge, and to prepare the armj' for
battle.*

About day- break of the twelfth, General Wills commenced his march
from Wigan in tlie following order : — The van consisted of Preston's re-
giment of foot, and was preceded by an advanced guard of fifty musket-
eers, and fifty dragoons on foot. The dragoon regiments of Honey-
wood, Dormer, and Munden, followed in succession. Tlie baggage
was placed in the rear under the protection of a party of fifty dra-
goons. As soon as it was known tliat Wills was advancing upon Pres-
ton, a select body of one hundred well-armed Highlanders, under the
command of Farquharson of Invercauld, was posted at Ribble bridge,
and Forster himself at the head of a party of horse, crossed the bridge,
and advanced to reconnoitre.

The approach to Ribble bridge, which is about half a mile from
Preston, is by a deep patli between two high banks, and so narrow in
some places that scarcely two men can ride abreast. Here it was that
Cromwell, in an action with the royalists, was nearly killed by a large
fragment of a rock thrown from above, and only escaped by forcing his
horse into a quicksand. The possession, therefore, of this pass, was of
the utmost importance to the insurgents, as Wills was not in a condition
to have forced it, being wholly unprovided with cannon. Nor could
he have been more successful in any attempt to pass the river, which
was fordable only at a considerable distance above and below the
bridge, and might have been rendered impassable in different waj's.
But the Jacobite general was grossly ignorant of every thing apper-
taining to the art of war, and in an evil hour ordered the party at the
bridge to abandon it, and retire into the town.

General Wills arrived opposite Ribble bridge about one o'clock
m the afternoon, and was surprised to find it undefended. Sus-
pecting an ambuscade, he advanced through the way leading to the
bridge with great caution, and having cleared the bridge, he marched
towards the town. He, at first, supposed that the insurgents had aban-
doned the town with the intention of returning to Scotland ; but he soon
ascertained that they still maintained their ground, and were resolved
to meet him. Halting, therefore, his men upon a small rising ground
near the town, he rode forward with a strong party of horse to take a
survey of the position of the insurgents.

During the morning they had been busily employed in rais-
ing barricades in the principal streets, and making other prepai-ations
for a vigorous defence. The earl of Derwentwater displa3'ed extraor-
dinary activity and zeal on this occasion. He distributed money among
the troops, exhorted them to stand firm to their posts, and set them an
example by throwing ofi'his coat, and assisting them in raising intrench-

* Letter, Sec, by an eye-witness p. 6.

BATTLE OF PRESTON. 309

uients. There were four main barriers erected across the leading streets
near the centre of the town, at each of whicli, with one exception, were
planted two pieces of cannon, which had been carried by the insur-
gents fruin Lancaster, and beyond these barriers, towards the extremi-
ties of tlie town, others were raised of an inferior description. Behind
the barricades bodies of men were posted, as well as in the houses out-
side the barricades, particularly in those which commanded the en-
trances into the principal streets. The recent instances of Paris and
Brussels have demonstrated how successfully, even an unfortified town
may be defended against the assaults of an army, and certainly after
the abandonment of Ribble bridge, a more judicious plan of defence
could not have been devised by the ablest tactician for meeting the com-
ing exigency ; but unfortunately for the insurgents, the future conduct of
their leaders did not correspond with these skilful dispositions.

One of the main barriers, of which Brigadier Mackintosh had the
command, was a little below the church, the task of supporting whom
was devolved upon the gentlemen volunteers, who were drawn up in
the churchyard under the command of Viscount Kenmure and the earls
of Derwentwater, Nithsdale, and Wintoun. A body of Highlanders,
under Lord Charles Murray, third son of the duke of Athole, was post-
ed at another barrier at the end of a lane leading to the fields. Col-
onel Mackintosh, at the head of the Mackintoshes, was posted at a third
barricade called the Windmill barrier, from its adjoining such a struc-
ture on the road to Lancaster. At the remaining barrier, which was in
the street leading to the Liverpool road, were placed some of the gen-
tlemen volunteers, and a part of the earl of Strathmore's regiment un-
der the command of Major Miller and Mr Douglas.

When the government general had made himself acquainted with the
plan of defence adopted by the insurgents, he returned to his main body,
and made preparations for an immediate attack. As he had not suffi-
cient forces to make a simultaneous assault upon all the barriers, he re-
solved to confine himself at first to two only, those commanded by Old
Borlum and Colonel Mackintosh, in the streets leading to Wigan and
Lancaster respectively, at both ends of the town. For this purpose he
divided his troops into three bodies ; — the first consisted of Preston's
regiment of foot, and two hundred and fifty dismounted dragoons taken
in equal proportions from the five dragoon regiments. This division
was commanded by Brigadier Honeywood, and was supported by his
own regiment of dragoons. The second body consisted of the regi-
ments of Wynn and Dormer, and a squadron of Stanhope's regiment,
all of which were dismounted ; — the last division, consisting of Pitt's
horse and the remainder of Stanhope's regiment, was kept as a reserve
for supporting the other divisions as occasion should require, and to pre-
vent the insurgents from escaping over the Ribble.

The action was begun by the division of Honeywood, which, after
driving a party of the insurgents from a small barricade at the ex-

310 HISTOnY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

tremily of one of the leading streets, entered the town, and attacked
the barrier near the churcli, defended by Brigadier Mackintosh ; but
Honoywood's men were unable to make any impression, and after sus-
taining a galling and destructive fire from the barrier and from the
houses on both sides of the street, they were forced to retreat from the
street with considerable loss. In this affair Brigadier Honeywood re-
ceived a contusion in his arm. Some of the officers of Preston's regi-
ment being informed whilst engaged in the street, that the street lead-
ing to Wigan was not barricaded, and that the houses on that side were
not possessed by the insurgents, Lord Forrester, the lieutenant-colonel,
resolved, after Honeywood's division had failed to establish itself in the
neighbourhood of the church, to attempt an entrance in that direction.
He accordingly drew oiFliis men by a narrow back passage or lane which
led into the street in the direction of Wigan, and ordering them to halt
till he should personally survey the position of the insurgents, this intre-
pid officer deliberately rode into the street with his drawn sword in his
hand, and amidst a shower of bullets, coolly examined the barrier, and
returned to his troops. He then sallied into the street at the head of
his men, and whilst with one party he attacked the barrier, another
under his direction crossed the street, and took possession of a very high
house belonging to Sir Henry Houghton, which overlooked the whole
town. In this enterprize many of the assailants fell by the fire of the in-
surgents who were posted in the adjoining houses. At same time, For-
rester's men possessed themselves of another house opposite, which was
unoccupied by the insurgents. The possession of these houses was of
immense advantage to the government troops, as it was from the firing
kept up from them that the insurgents chiefly suffered. A party of fifty
Highlanders, under Captain Innes, had been posted in Houghton's house,
and another body in the opposite one ; but Brigadier Mackintosh had
unfortunately withdrawn both parties contrary to their own wishes, to
less important stations.

F'orrester's men maintained the struggle with great bravery, but were
unsuccessful in every attempt to force the barrier. As the insurgents,
from their position in the houses and behind the barricade, were en-
abled to take deliberate aim, many of their shots took deadly effect,
and the gallant Lord Forrester received several wounds ; but although
Preston's foot kept up a smart fire, they did little execution among
the insurgents, who were protected by the barricade and the houses.
Captain Peter Farquharson was the only Jacobite officer who fell in
this attack. He received a shot in the leg, and being taken to the
White Bull inn, where the wounded were carried, he called for a
glass of brandy, and thus addressed his comrades : — " Come lads, here
is our master's health ; though I can do no more, I wish you good
success." Amputation being deemed necessary, this brave man expired,
almost immediately, from the unskilfulness of the operator.

Whilst this struggle was going on near the church, a contest equally

BATTLE OF PRESTON. 311

warm was raging in another quarter of the town between Dormer's division
and the party under Lord Charles Murray. In approaching the barrier
commanded by tliis young nobleman, Dormer's men were exposed to a
well-directed and murderous fire from the houses, yet, though newly-
raised troops, they stood firm, and reached the barricade, from which, how-
ever, they were vigorously repulsed. Lord Charles Murray conducted
himself with great bravery in repelling this attack, and anticipating a
second attempt upon the barrier, he applied for and obtained a reinforce-
ment of fifty gentlemen volunteers from the church-yard. Dormer's troops
returned to the assault, but although they displayed great courage and
resolution, they were again beaten back with loss. An attack made on
the Windmill barricade, which was defended by Colonel Mackintosh,
met with a similar fate.

Thus repulsed in all their attacks, and as in their approaches to the
barriers the government troops had been incessantly exposed to a regu-
lar and well directed fiie from the houses. General Wills issued orders
to set the houses at both ends of the town on fire, for the purpose of dis-
lodging the insurgents from such annoying positions, and cooping them
up in the centre of the town. Many houses and barns were in conse-
quence consumed, and almost the entire range of houses as far as Lord
Charles Murray's barrier was burnt. As the assailants advanced under
cover of the smoke of the conflagration, many of the insurgents, in at-
tempting to escape from the flames, were cut down on the spot. The
rebels in their turn attempted to dislodge the government troops from
the houses of which they had obtained possession, by setting them on fire.
Fortunately there was no wind at the time, otherwise the whole town
would have been reduced to ashes.

Night came on, yet an irregular platooning was, notwithstanding, kept
up till next day bj' both parties. To distinguish the houses possessed by
the government forces. General Wills ordered them to be illuminated, a
circumstance which gave the besieged a decided advantage, as the light
from the windows enabled them to direct their fire with better effect.
Wills soon perceived the error he had committed, and sent persons round
to order the lights to be extinguished, which order being promulgated
aloud in the streets, was so strangely misunderstood by those within,
that, to the amusement of both parties, they set up additional lights.
During the night a considerable number of the insurgents left the town.

Before day-break. General W^ills visited the different posts, and gave
directions for opening a commuuication between both divisions of the
array to support each other, should necessity require. During the morn-
ing, which was that of Sunday the thirteenth day of November, he was
occupied in making arrangements for renewing the attack. Meantime
General Carpenter arrived about ten o'clock with Churchill's and Moles-
worth's dragoons, accompanied by the earl of Carlisle, Lord Lumley,
and others. This event was as exhilarating to the royalists, as it was
disheartening to the besieged, who, notwithstanding the defection of

312 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

their more timorous associates during tlie preceding night, were, before
the accession of Carpenter, fully a match for their assailants. Wills,
after explaining to Carpenter the state of matters, and the disposi-
tions he had made, offered to resign the command to him, as his
superior officer, but being satisfied with Wills's conduct, Carpenter
declined to accept it, remarking, that as he had begun the affair so
well, he ought to have tiic glory of finishing it. On examining mat-
ters himself, however. Carpenter found that the town was not suffi-
ciently invested, particularly at the end of Fishergate street, which led
to a meadow by which the insurgents could easily have escaped. He
therefore posted Pitt's horse along the meadow, and lest the whole body
of the besieged should attempt to force a retreat that way, he caused a
communication to be opened through the enclosures on that side, that
the other divisions of the army might the more readily hasten thither to
intercept them.

Thus invested on all sides, and pent up within a narrow compass by
the gradual encroachments of the royalists, the Jacobite General grew
alarmed, and began to think of a surrender. Tlie Highlanders were
fully aware of their critical situation, but the idea of surrendering had
never once entered their minds, and they had been restrained only by
the most urgent entreaties, from sallying out upon the roj'alists, and
cutting their way through their ranks, or dying, as they remarked,
like men of honour, with their swords in their hands. Neither Fors-
ter nor any other officer durst, therefore, venture to make such a proposal
to them, and Patten asserts, that had they known that Colonel Oxburgh
had been sent on the mission he undertook, he would have never seen
Tyburn, but would have been shot by common consent before he had
passed the barrier. This gentleman, who had great influence over Fors-
ter (and who, in the opinion of the last named author, was better cal-
culated, from the strictness with which he performed his religious duties,
to be a priest than a field officer,) in conjunction with Lord Widdrington
and others, prevailed upon him to make an offer of capitulation, thinking
that they would obtain favourable terms from the government general.
This resolution was adopted without the knowledge of the rest of the
officers, and Oxburgh, who had volunteered to negotiate, went off about
two o'clock in the afternoon to Wills's head-quarters. To prevent sus-
picion of his real errand, the soldiers were informed that General Wills
had sent to offer them honourable terms, if they would lay down their
arms.

The reception of Oxburgh by General Wills, was very different from
what he and his fi lends had anticipated. Wills, in fact, absolutely refused
to hear of any terms, and upon Oxburgh making an offer that tlie in-
surgents should lay don-n their arms, provided he would recommend
them to the mercy of the king, he informed him tliat he would not treat
with rebels, who had killed several of his majesty's subjects, and who
consequently must expect to undergo the same fate. The Cnloiiel,

SUI(Hb:NUI£K UF T1I£ lN:iUUUUNTS. •'< I 3

thereupon, with great earnestness, begged tlie General, as an officer and a
man of honour, to show mercy to people wlio were willing to submit.
The royalist commander, somewhat softened, replied, that all he would
promise was, that if the insurgents would lay down their arms and sur-
render themselves prisoners at discretion, he would prevent the soldiers
from cutting them to pieces till further orders ; and that lie would allow
them an hour for the consideration of his oti'er. The result of this in-
terview was immediately reported by Oxburgh to his friends, but nothing
has transpired to throw any light upon tlicir deliberations. Before the
hour had elapsed, Mr Dalzell, brother to the earl of Carnwath, appeared
at Wills's head quarters, and requested to know what terms he would
grant separately to the Scots ; Wills answered that he would not treat
with rebels, nor grant any other terms than those already offered.

To bring matters to an immediate issue. General Wills sent Colonel
Cotton into the town about three o'clock in the afternoon, accompanied
by a dragoon, and a drummer beating a chamade. Cotton alighted at the
sign of the mitre, where the principal insurgent officers were assembled,
and required an inunediate answer to Wills's proposal. He was told,
howi'ver, that diffi?rences existed between the English and Scottish officers
upon the subject, but they requested tliat the General would allow tiem
till seven o'clock next morning to settle their differences, and to consult
upon the best method of delivering themselves up. This proposal being
reported to Wills, he agreed to grant the Jacobite commanders the time
required, provided they would bind themselves to throw up no new
entrenchments in the streets, nor allow any of their men to escape ;
for the performance of which stipulations he required the delivery of
approved hostages. — Cotton having returned to the town, the earl of
Derwentwater and Brigadier Mackintosh were pitched upon as hostages
for the observance of these stipulations, and sent to the royalist head-
quarters.

As soon as the Highlanders perceived that a capitulation was resolved
upon, their fury knew no bounds. They declared that sooner than sur-
render, they wouW die fighting, and that when they could no longer defend
their posts, they would attempt to cut their way through their assailants,
and make a retreat. During the night they paraded the streets, threaten-
ing destruction to every person who should even allude to a surrender.
During these disturbances, several peroons were killed, and many wound-
ed, and Mr Forster, who was openly denounced as the originator of the
capitulation, would certainly have been cut to pieces by the infuriated
soldiers, had he appeared in the streets. He made a narrow escape even
in bis own chamber, a gentleman of the name of Murray having fired a
pistol at him, the ball from which would have taken ettect had not Mr
Patten, the Jacobite chaplain, struck up the pistol with his hand, and
thus diverted the course of the bullet, which penetrated the wainscot in
the wall of the room.

At seven o'clock next morning, Forstir notihed to General Wills that

II. '2 R

314 HISTORY OF THE UIGI1LAND3.

the insurgents were willing to surrender at discretion as he had required.
Old Borluin being present when this message was delivered, observed
that he would not be answerable for the Scots surrendering without
terras, as they were people of desperate fortunes ; and that he who had
been a soldier himself, knew what it was to be a prisoner at discretion.
" Go back to your people again," answered Wills, " and I will attack the
town, and the consequence will be 1 «'ill not spare one man of you."
After this challenge. Mackintosh could not with a good grace remain,
and returned to his friends ; but he came back immediately, and informed
Wills that Lord Keiimure and the rest of the Scots noblemen, as well as
his brother, would surrender on the same conditions as the English.

Colonel Cotton was thereupon despatched with a detachm(;nt of two
hundred men to take possession of the town, and the rest of the govern-
ment forces thereafter entered it in two grand divisions, amid the
sound of trumpets and beating of drums, and met in the market
place, where the Highlanders were drawn up under arms ready to
surrender. The number of prisoners taken on this occasion was four-
teen hundred and sixty-eight, of whom about four hundred and sixty-
three were English, including seventy-five noblemen and gentlemen — the
Scots amounted to one thousand and five, of whom one hundred and forty-
three were noblemen and gentlemen. The noblemen and gentlemen were
placed under guards in the inns of the town, and the privates were con-
fined in the church. On the part of the insurgents there were only
seventeen killed and twenty-five wounded in the different attacks, but the
loss on the part of the royalists was very considerable, amounting, it is
believed, to five times the number of the former. From the small num-
ber of prisoners taken, it would appear that few of the country people
who had joined the insurgents wlien they entered Lancashire, had re-
mained in Preston. They proliably left the town during the nights
of Saturday and Sunday.*

• l'.ill.ii, p. 97, et suq. Annals of 2il year of GeorsiM p. I'Jo, el 3.:4. l.iie,. lu, tt o«i
^aitlil'iil iU'jiUler of iKe lae ticbcllun, pp. Iii2, IU3 lfi4.

4^

and the

CHAPTER XIV.

Mar issues an order of assessment — Detachment of his army surprised at castle Campbell
—Preparations for opening the campaign — Departure from l*erth — Junction of the
western clans — Advance of Argyle from Stirling — Enters Dunblane — I'reparalions
for baitle — Battle of SheritTmuir— Return of Mar to Perth, and of Argjie to Stirling
— Captuie of Inverness — Arrival of the Chevalier — Wet by Mar at Fetteresso — His
reception by the non-jurant clergy — Issues a variety of proclamations — Preparations
of the duke of Argjie — Retreat of the J.icubite army from I'erlh — Departure of tho
Chevalier for France — Conclusion of tlie Insurrection.

Having, for the sake of continuity, brought the narrative of the
English branch of the insurrection to a close, in the preceding chapter,
we now ])roceed to detail the operations of the royalist and Jacobite
armies under Argyle and Mar respectively, and the other transactions
in the north which preceded its total suppression.

When the Jacobite general took the field he was so unprovided with
money, that after Colonel Hay entered Perth he could spare him only
fifty guineas for the use of his detachment, and so exhausted had his
little treasury become shortly after he took up his quarters there, that
he was reduced to the necessity of laying the surrounding country, and
the shires of Fife, Kinross, and Clackmannan under contribution. By
an order dated from the camp at Perth, on the fourth of October, he com
manded and required every landed proprietor, feuar, landed mortgagee,
and all life-renters attending the standard of the Chevalier, to propor-
tion and raise amongst their tenants and possessors, the sum of twenty
shillings sterling on every hundred pounds scots of valued rent, and he
ordered such landed proprietors as did not immediately or before the
twelfth of October, attend his standard, to proportion and raise an
assessment of double that amount. This order appears to have had
little effect, as it was renewed on the twenty-first of October, when it
was rigorously enforced, and the penalty of military execution threaten-
ed against those who should refuse to implement it

To compel compliance, parties of horse and foot were despatched
through the adjoining country. One of these, consisting of two hundred
fijot and one hundred horse, being sent towards the town of Dunfermline,

316 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

information of their march was brought to the duke of Arpyle on
Sundaj', the twenty-third of October. His graee immediately de-
spatched Colonel Cathcart with a detachment of dragoons to intercept
them, who, receiving intelligence that the insurgents had passed Castle-
Campbell, and had taken up their quarters for the night in a village on
the road to Dunfermline, continued his march during the whole night,
and coming upon the village unpcrceived at five o'clock in the morning,
surprised the party, some of whom were taken while in bed. Among
these were eleven gentlemen, including Gordon of Craig, Gordon of the
Mill of Kincardine, Gordon younger of Aberlour, Hamilton of Gibstoun
in Stirlingshire, Mr Murray brother to the laird of Abercairney, and
Mr Hay son of Hay of Parbroath.*

After this aflair, and for want of more stirring excitements, a
sort of paper war was carried on between the two generals, which, if
attended with little practical effect on either side, served at least to
keep up in a more marked manner the distinction between the ad-
herents of the government and the partizans of the Jacobite interest.
When informed of the earl of Mar's order for an assessment, the duke of
Argyle issued a counter one, on the twenty-fifth of October, prohibiting
and discharging all persons from giving or furnishing the insurgents with
money or provisions, under the pains of high treason, and for greater
publicity he directed the same to be intimated at each parish cliurch
door after divine service, and before the dismissal of the congregation.
This mandate was followed two days thereafter by another from the
duke, requiring all well-affected noblemen, gentlemen, justices of the
peace, magistrates and ministers, " to persuade and encourage all able-
bodied and well-affected men,'' in their respective parishes, in town and
country, to enlist in the regular army, and promising a bounty of forty
shillings sterling in hand, and a discharge from the service if required
at the end of three months after the suppression of the insurrection.
This order was answered by a proclamation from the earl of Mar, dated
first November, prohibiting and discharging all persons whatever, under
the highest penalties, from giving obedience to it ; and whereas, he had
promised his protection, as he observes, to all ministers who behaved
themselves dutifully, and did not acknowledge " the Elector of Bruns-
wick as king, by praying for him as such in their churches and congre-
gations;" yet as several of them continued the practice, and might thus
" involve and mislead innocent and ignorant people, into traitorous and
seditious practices ;'' he expressly prohibited " all ministers, as well in
churches as in meeting houses, to acknowledge the Elector of Brunswick
as king, and that upon their highest peril." And he ordered all officers,
civil and military, to shut up the church doors of such ministers as
should act in contempt of the order, to apprehend their persons and
bring them prisoners to his camp. Many ministers, to avoid compliance

• Rae, p. 294.

DEPARTURE OF MAR FROM PERTH. 317

with this order, absented tliemselves from their charges, but otners who
ventured openly to brave it, were apprehended and treated with severity.
Mar, however, found a more pliant body in the non-jurant episcopal
clergy, some of whom attaclied themselves to his camp, and harangued
his troops from time to time on the duties they owed to their lawful
sovereign, "King James the eighth."*

Although the earl seems to have calculated greatly upon t!ie assistance
of France, yet his stay at Perth ajipears to have been prolonged
•■ather by the tardiness of the earl of Seaforth, in reaching the insurgent
camp, than by any intention of waiting for supplies from France, or the
expected invasion of England by the duke of Ormond ; for no sooner
did Seaforth arrive with the northern clans, about the beginning ol
November, tlian ]Mar began to concert measures with his officers for
opening the campaign. The march of the earl of Seaforth had been
retarded bj' the earl of Sutherland, at the head of a considerable number
of his own men, and of the Maekays, Rosses, Monroes and others, but
having compelled them to disperse, he proceeded on his march with about
three thousand foot and eight hundred horse, leaving a sufficient force
behind to protect his own country, and keep the royalist clans in check.

Hitherto the Jacobite commander, from the procrastinating system he
had pursued, and from jealousies which had arisen in his camp among his
officers, had experienced considerable difficulty in keeping his forces
together. Of all men, the Highlanders were the most unlikely to relish
the inactive duties of a camp, and as the duration of their services lay
entirely with themselves, it was evident that the longer Mar delayed bring-
ing them into action, the risk of their abandoning him was proportionably
increased. It was not therefore without reason that one of the leaders
remarked that he was afraid the Highlanders would desert their colours
in three cases. 1. If they were long without being brouglit to action,
they would tire and go home. 2. If they fought and were victorious,
tliey would plunder and go home. 3. If they fought and were beaten,
they would run away and go home.f

To counteract the injurious effect which a state of inaction might
produce upon the minds of his men, Mar buoyed up their hopes by
issuing from time to time, by means of a printing press brought from
Aberdeen, and superintended by Freebairn of Edinburgh, a variety of
fabricated accounts, highly favourable to their cause, respecting the pro-
gress of the rebellion in the south, and the great exertions making by
the Chevalier's friends in France, all of which were swallowed with
the utmost credulity by his unsuspecting adherents.

About the time the earl of Seaforth arrived at Perth, General Gor-
don had advanced as far as Castle Drummond with the western clans

• Wodrow's LeUers, vol. 10. MS. Ailvoc.aes' Library,
t MS. in tile possession of Lord Rossiyn.

31S HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

on his way to Perth ; and as Mar had now resolved to attempt the
passage of the Forth, he despatched an express to Gordon, to join him
on his march. At a council of war, whicli was Iield on the ninth of
November, the Jacobite chiefs came to the determination of heaving
Perth the following day for Dunblane. On obtaining possession of
this town, Mar's design was to detach three different bodies, of a thou-
sand men each, to Stirling bridge, and the two adjacent fords above, for
the purpose of amusing Argyle, while he himself with the main body of
his army, consisting of nearly eight thousand men, should attempt to
cross the river at a ford a little way above those selected for the intended
ruse. In the event of success, the three detached bodies were to be
directed to form a junction and follow the main body without delay, but
in case tlie duke of Argyle abandoned Stirling to oppose the passage of
the main body, they were to enter the town and fall upon his rear.

Accordingly, on the morning of Thursday, the tenth of November,
Mar departed from Perth, leaving a garrison behind under Colonel
Balfour, besides a scattered force of about three thousand men quartered
in different parts of Fife. The earl not calculating upon a return to
Perth, took all his baggage along with him and provisions sufficient to
support his army for twelve days. The insurgents took up their
quarters for the night at Auchterarder, where they were reviewed by
the earl, and on the following day were joined by the western clans
under General Gordon. The army rested the whole of the eleventh.
On the morning of the twelfth. Mar ordered General Gordon to march
forward with three thousand of the clans, and eight squadrons of horse
under Brigadier Ogilvy, and the master of Sinclair, and take posses-
sion of Dunblane. After ordering the rest of the army to parade on
the muir of TuUibardine, he departed for Drummond castle to hold an
iuterviev/ with the earl of Breadalbane, having previously directed Gen-
eral Hamilton to follow Gordon with the main body.

As early as tlie morning of Thursday the tenth of November, the
duke of Argyle had received intelligence from some of his spies at
Pertli, of Mar's intended march, and of his plan for effecting the
passage of the Forth. Fortunately for Argyle, his little army had
been lately almost doubled by reinforcements from Ireland, and it
now amounted to two thousand three hundred foot, and twelve hun-
dred cavalry, all in the best order and condition, but though formida-
ble from its composition wiien united, it was too weak to divide into
detachments for resisting at different points the passage of an army thrice
as numerous, in an attempt to cross the Forth. As Argyle, therefore,
saw he could no longer retain his position on the banks of the river,
which, from its now beginning to freeze, would soon be rendered more
passable than before, he determined to cross the river and oSer the in-
surgents battle before they should reach its northern bank. Though he
exposed himself by this bold step to the disadvantage of fighting with a

, garrison beiiiua under Colonel
unit three thousand men qur-rtTcJ
•t iiio. Ttic eari not calculating upon a )
baffsraf'e along with him and urovisions suHv

e army had

■':i!irl. End it

■^- -•'*>- -- -^t.^-

ADVANCE OF ARGYLE UPON DUNBLANE. 319

nver io his rear, he considered that the rislc wouW be sutficieiidy
counterbalanced by the advantage which his cavalry would Iiavc by
engaging the enemy on level ground.

Having called in several small detachments which were quartered al
Glasgow, Kilsyth, and Falkirk, Argyle crossed Stirling bridge on the
morning of the twcll'lh of November, lor Dunblane, much about the same
time that Mar's forces had begun to advance upon that town in an oppo-
site direction from Auclitcrarder. In a short time after their setting out,
Argyle's advanced guard took possession of Dunblane, of which circum-
stance General Gordon was apprized on his march. Having halted his
division, Gordon sent an express, announcing the intelligence to General
Hamilton, who despatched it to the earl of Mar, and in a short time he
forwarded a second express confirming the previous news, and adding that
the enemy were in great force. Hamilton, upon receipt of this la.>t de-
spatch, halted bis men on the ground adjoining the Roman camp at Ardoch,
about Hve miles from Dunblane, till he should receive instructions from
the earl. Mar soon thereafter returned from Drumraond castle, and being
desirous of obtaining additional intelligence from the general in advance,
ordered Hamilton to remain in his position, and to hold his men in
readiness to march on a moment's notice. This order had l.owever
been scarcely issued, when a fresh despatch arrived from General Gor-
don, announcing that the duke of Argyle was in Du' blane with his
whole army. Mar thereupon sent an express to Gordon, .r siring him to
remain where he was till the main body of the army should come up, and
having ordered three guns to be fired, the signal agreed upon to be given
Hamilton for putting his men in marching order, the latter immediately
formed his division and put it in motion. After a junction between the
two divisionsof the army had been formed, the insurgents marched to the
bridge of Kinbuck, about four miles from Dunblane, where they passed
the night under arms without any covering or tent. The duke of
Argyle, who had the most exact intelligence brought to him of the
motions of the insurgents, left Dunblane and formed his army in order
of battle in the evening, on a rising ground above the house of Kippen-
ross, about two miles north-cast from the town. His army was drawn
up in one extended line. In the centre were eight battalions c^ foot
under the command of Major General Wightman. The right wing
consisted of five squadrons of dragoons, under Lieutenant General
Evans, and a similar number, at the head of whom was Lieutenant
General Whitham, composed the left wing. After thus drawing up his
men, his grace issued orders that no tent should be pitched during the
night either by officer or private soldier ; that all the officers without
distinction should remain at their posts; and that the troops should rest
on their arms in the exact order in which they had been formed. The
Bi'verest penalties were threatened those who should infringe the.se
orders. Though the night was extremely cold, the troops prostrated
themselves upon the bare ground, and snatched a few hours repose.

320 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Tlie duke himself retired to a sheep-cote at the foot of a hill on the
right of the army, where he passed the night sitting on a bundle of
straw. Intelligence having been brought him at midnight of the near
position of the enemy, he ordered six rounds of ammunition to be dis-
tributed to each man in addition to twenty-four whicli they had already
received. This ordur was carried into effect before two o'clock in the
morning.*

Although the two armies had bivouacked during the night within
three miles of each other, and were only separated by the Sheriffmuir,
an elevated and uneven waste, skirted on the west by the high road from
Stirling to Perth, near the river Allan, yet so ignorant was Mar of the
movements of Argyle, that so far from supposing him to be .vithin such
a short distance of his camp, he imagined that he still remained at Dun-
blane ; and it was not until he observed a reconnoitring party of
Argyle's cavalry on the adjoining heights of the Sheriffmuir next morn-
ing that he became aware of his immediate proximity. This party was
headed by the duke himself, who had aroused his army by break of day,
and who, after issuing instructions to his men to prepare for battle, had
ascended at an early hour the hill where his advanced guard was posted
to survej' the position of the insurgents.

The earl of Mar had also put his men under arms shortly after break
of day, and when Argyle's party of observation was first noticed, he was
busily engaged ranging his men in marching order, preparatory to ad-
vancing upon Dunblane. Conceiving that Argyle meant to offer him
battle immediately, he instantly assembled all the chiefs in front of his
horse and after addressing them in an eloquent speech, in which he paint-
ed in glowing colours the wrongs of their prince and their country, and
congratulated them that the day had at length arrived when they could
revenge their injuries in open battle, he desired to know if they were
willing to engage. The marquis of Huntly alone raised some objec-
tions, and some few. were heard in an under-tone to advise a return to
Perth till the spring ; but the voices of Huntly and his supporters were
drowned by loud shouts of " fight, fight 1" from the rest, who at once,
galloped off to their difi'erent posts. -j-

The earl of Mar, thereupon, resumed the marshalling of his army,
which formed into two lines with a rapidity and decision, which would
have done honour to veteran troops, but by accident, three squadrons
of horse posted on the left, misled by a cry from the Highlanders,
of " horse to the right," left their position and took ground on the right,
an unfortunate mistake for the insurgents, as it contributed to the de-
feat of their left wing. The centre of the first line was composed of
ten battalions of foot, consisting of about four tliousand men under the

• Rm, p. 302.
T MS. in Ihc possession of LnrH Itosslyn, referred to in Lord John Russell's Hisloi)
uf Kurope, p. 345. Jac-obile Offirial Aicount of the battle, printed ul Perlli, 1715.

PREPARATIOM KOK BATTLE. S'Jl

command of the captain of Clanranald, Gleiigary, Sir Jolin Maclean,
the laird of Glonbuciiet, Brigadier Ogilvy, and tlie two brothers of Sir
Donald Macdonald of Sleat. General Gordon, wlio had long served in
the army of the Czar of Muscovy, was at the head of tliese battalions.
On the riglit of this line were placed two of the Marquis of Huntly's
squadrons of horse, and another called the Stirling squadron, which
carried the Clievalier's standard. 'I'his squadron, wliich consisted wholly
of gentlemen, also bore the title of " the Restoration regiment of horse."
The Perthshire squadron formed the left wing. The centre of the
second line consisted of eight battalions of foot, viz. three of the earl of
Seaforth's foot, two of the marquis of Huntly's, the earl of Panraure's
battalion, and those of the marquis of TuUibardineof Drummond, com-
manded by the viscount of Strathallan, and of Logie-Almond, and
Robertson of Struan. On the right of this second line were posted two
squadrons of horse under the Earl Marischal. Tlie Angus squadron
was on the left. The whole of the force thus formed for action may be
estimated at eight thousand, besides which there was a corps de reserve
of four hundred horse posted considerably in the rear.

While this formation was going on, tlie duke of Argyle observed for
several hours with great attention the various evolutions of the insurgents ;
but from the nature of the ground occupied by them he could not obtain
a full view of their line which extended through a hollow waj', the view of
which was obstructed by the brow of a hill which was occupied by a
party of Mar's troops. From Mar's advanced guards looking towards
Dunblane, tlie duke conjectured that the insurgents intended to march
in tliat direction ; but he was undeceived in this idea by a movement
on the part of a mass of the insurgents towards his right as if they in-
tended to cross the moor and fall upon the flank of his army. As a
large morass lay in the way of the insurgents, Argyle, in advancing
from Dunblane, had conceived himself free from danger on that side ; but
it had now been rendered quite passable for foot as well as horse by a
keen frost during the preceding night. As soon as Argyle saw this
large body advance up the face of the moor, which, from the right wing
of the insurgents being concealed from his view by a rising ground, he
supposed was the main body of Mar's army, he requested the advice of
the officers who surrounded him as to how he should act. It was the
general opinion, an opinion in which the duke himself concurred, that
there would be less risk in engaging the insurgents on the high grounds
than in waiting for them in the position occupied by the duke's army ;
but although most of the officers thought that there would not be suffi-
cient time to bring forward the troops and to change tlie order ol
battle, a change which was absolutely necessary, the duke resolved to
draw out his troops upon the moor.*

Having come to this determination, the duke returned quickly to tlip

• Wiidrow's Letters, MS. vol. 111.

11 2 s

822 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND:!.

army, and ordered the drums to beat the General. Tliis onler Wcis
given about eleven o'clock ; but although the drums instantly beat to
arms, an hour elapsed before the troops were ready to march. The
new order of battle was as follows. The duke's first line consisted of
six battalions of foot, all old troops, amounting scarcely to eighteen
hundred men. On the right were posted three squadrons of dragoons
being the best in the army, namely Evans's, the Scots Greys, and the
earl of Stairs. On the left tliere were placed three squadrons oi
dragoons, namely, Carpenter's, Ker's, and a squadron of Stairs. Tim
second line was composed of only two battalions of foot, vvitli a squa-
dron of dragoons on each wing. The right wing of the army wa-? cdui-
nianded by the duke himself, the centre by General Wightujan, ami
the left by General Whitham. Behind Evans's dragoons, on the right
wing, a body of about sixty horse, noblemen and gentlemen volun-
teers, took up a station.

The body which Argyle had observed coming up the face of the moor,
was a squadron of the Earl Marischal's horse and Sir Donald Mac-
donald's battalion, under their respective commanders. These had been
despatched by tlie earl of Mar, to drive away the reconnoitring party under
the duke of Argyle from the height; but on its disappearing, they returned
and reported the circumstance to the earl. On receiving this intelligence.
Mar gave orders to his troops to march up the hill in four colunin.s. The
wliole army was accordinglj' put in motion, but tliey had not proceeded
far when the Earl Marisclial, who was in advance, observed .\rgylc form-
ing his lines on the southern summit of the hill, at a short distance from
him. He immediately notified the circumstance to Mar, who instantly
gave orders to his men to quicken their pace up the hill. In the hurry of
their ascent, the second line pressed so closely upon the first as to occa-
sion some confusion on the left when again getting into line, and it was
in consequence of this disorder that, the squadrons of horse forsook
their position on the left, and took ground on the right.

Before the insurgents reached the summit of tlje moor, Argyle's right
wing was fully formed, but the greater part of his centre and left, who
were moving up the ascent by a gradual progression from right to
lef>, had not yet reached their ground. Argyle's right now found
itself within pistol-shot of Mar's left, but from the greater extent of
Mar's line, it considerably outflanked Argjde's left.

As soon as the earl of Mar perceived that .Argyle's line was oidy par-
tially formed, he resolved instantly to attack him before he should be
able to complete his arrangements ; and having sent orders to his right
and left to (all simultaneously upon the enemj', Mar placed himself at
the head of the clans, and being apprized by a firing on his left thai
the action had conmienced, he pulled ott' his hat, which he waved, ami
with a huzza led forward his men upon the half-formed battalions which
composed the left wing of the enemy. Arrived within pistol-shot, the
Highlanders, according to custom, poured in a volley upon the English

BATTLE OF SHERIFFMUin. 823

lufaiitry. The fire was instantly retunicJ, and, to the dismay of the
Highlanders, Alan Muidartach, the captain of Claurauald, was uiortallv
wounded. He was instantly carried off the field, and, as his men clus-
tered around him, he encouraged tliem to stand firm to their posts, and
expressed a liope that the result of the struggle in which they were en-
gaged would be favourable to the cause of his sovereign. The loss of a
chief, who, from the stately magnificence with which he upheld his feudal
rank, and the urbanity ol his disposition, had acquired an ascendency
over the minds of his people, could not fail to depress their spirits, and
make them almost overlook the danger of their situation. While ab-
sorbed in grief, they were in a moment roused from their dejection by
Glengary, who, observing their conduct at this juncture, sprung forward,
and throwing his bonnet into the air, cried aloud, in the expressive lan-
guage of his country, " Revenge I Revenge I Revenge to-day and
mourning to-morrow !" No sooner had this brave chieftain pronounced
these words, than the Highlanders rushed forward, sword in hand, with
the utmost fur^', upon the royalist battalions. The government troops
attempted to stem the impetuosity of the attack, by opposing the High-
landers with fixed bayonets, but the latter pushed them aside with their
targets, and rushing in with their broad swords among the enemy,
spread death and terror around them. The three battalions on Argyle's
left, which had never been properly formed, unable to rally, instantly
pave way, and falling back upon some squadrons of horse in their rear,
created such confusion, that within seven or eight minutes after the
assault, the form of a battalion or squadron was no longer discernible.
A complete route ensued ; and there seems no doubt that the whole of
Argyle's left would have been completely destroyed, had not General
Whitham, at the head of the squadrons which were upon the left of
the battalions, checked the advance of Mar's horse by a charge, in
which he succeeded in capturing a standard. Afraid of being out-
Banked by Argj'le's left wing, which extended far beyond his position,
and being ignorant of what was passing on the right wing of the royal-
ists, the view of which was concealed by the unevenness of the ground,
Whitham retired in the direction of Dunblane. The earl of Mar pur-
!^ued the disordered mass to the distance of only half a mile, and hav-
ing ordered his foot to halt till he should put them in order, resolved
to follow the enemy and complete the victory ; but receiving intelligence
that his left wing and second line had given way, and that his artillery
had been taken, he retraced his steps, and took up a position on the top
of the stony hill of Kippendavie, till he should receive further informa-
tion respecting the fate of his left wing.

This wing, which was the first to begin the attack, opened a fire
upon Argyle's right wing when almost within pistol shot. The High-
landers thereafter steadily advanced, and pouring a second volley
among the enemy, with a precision and etlcct not to be surpassed by the
best disciplined trooi)S, rushed up, sword in hand, tu the very muzzles

32-4 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAXDS.

(if their muskets. Though tlie fire was destructive, and made
Evans's dragoons reel for a time, the English troops maintained their
ground, and the foot kept up a platooning, which checked the fury of
their assailants. The struggle continued for some time without any de-
cided advantage on either side ; but as Argyle began to perceive thai
he could make no impression in front upon the numerous masses of llie
insurgents, and that lie might be out-flanked by them, he resolved to
attack them on tlieir flank with part of his cavalry, while his foot should
gall them with their fire in front. He therefore ordered Colonel Cathcart
to move along the morass to the right with a strong body of cavalry, and
to fall upon the flank of Mar's left wing, a movement which he executed
with great skill. Cathcart, after receiving a fire from the insurgent
horse, immediately charged them, but they sustained the assault with
great firmness. Borne down by the superior weight of the English dra-
goons, whose horses were much larger than those of the insurgents, the
Scottish horse, after nearly half-an-hour's contest, were compelled to
give way. The foot of Argyle's right having made a simultaneous at-
tack upon Mar's first line of foot, the latter also were forced to fall back,
and Mar's horse and foot coining into contact with his second line, they
mixed indiscriminately, and a general route in consequence ensued.

After receding a short distance, the insurgent horse, which consisted
principally of tlie Jacobite gentry of Perthshire and Angus, attempted
to rally, and even to charge Argyle's cavalrj' in their turn, but they
were again forced to retire by the pressure of the English dragoons, who
kept advancing in regular order upon the receding masses of the insur-
gents. Determined, however, not to yield one inch of ground without
the utmost necessity, the cavalier horse made repeated eflxjrts to drive
the enemy back, and, in the course of their retreat, made ten or twelve
attempts at diflTerent places to rally and charge the advancing foe ; but
unable to resist the overwhelming pressure of the English cavalry, they
were, after three hours' hard fighting, driven across the river Allan by
Argyle's dragoons. Some idea may be formed of the obstinacy of the
contest, when it is considered that tlie distance from the field of battle
lo the river is scarcely three miles. To the gallant stand made by the
liorse may be ascribed the safety of the foot, who would have been pro-
bably all cut to ,)ieces by the dragoons, if the attention of the latter had
not been chiefly occupied by the horse. The foot, however, suffered
considerably in the retreat, notwithstanding the humanity of the duke
of Argyle, who endeavoured to restrain the carnage. Besides offering
quarter to such of the Jacobite gentlemen as were personally known to
him, he displayed his anxiety for the preservation of his countrymen so
far, that on ol)serving a party of liis dragoons cutting down a body of
loot, into whieli they liati thrown themselves, he exclaimed with a feel-
ing of deep emotion, " Oh, spare the poor Blue-bonnets !"

As Mar's right wing had been concealed from the view of Argj'le,
the latter conceived that the numerous body he was driving before him

BATTLE OF SllERI FFMUI R. 325

(brmed tlie entire of the insurgent array. He, therefore, resolved to
coiitinue the pursuit till dark, and to support him, he ordered General
Wiglitman, who comniandod his foot upon the right, to follow him with
Iiis l)attaIions as quickly as possible. Wightman accordingly proceeded
(o follow the duke with a force of rather more tlian three regiments ; but
he had not marched far, when he heard a firing on his left, to ascertain
the cause of which, he sent his aid-de-camp in the direction whence the
firing proceeded. This officer returned in a short time, and reported that
the half of ."Vrgyle's foot, and the squadrons on the left, had all been cut
off by the right of the insurgents, which was superior in point of numbers
to Argyle's left. Wightman thereupon slackened his pace, and des-
patched a messenger to inform the duke of the fate of his left wing.
Afraid of being attacked in his rear by Mar's right wing, he kept his men
in perfect order, but no demonstration was made to follow him. When
informed of the defeat of his left wing, Argyle gave over the pursuit, and
joining Wightman with five squadrons of dragoons, put his men in order of
battle and marched boldly to the bottom of the hill, on the top of which
the enemy, amounting to four thousand men, were advantageously
posted. Argyle had now scarcely a thousand men under him, and as
these were already greatly exhausted, he judged it expedient to act on
the defensive ; and accordingly he posted his men behind some enclo-
sures at the bottom of the hill, ready to repel any attack which the ene-
my might make. For better protection he posted two pieces of cannon
on his right and left, to play upon the enemy should they approach ; but
the insurgents showed no disposition to engage, and both parties, as if by
mutual consent, retired from their positions in different directions. The
duke filed off his men to the right, in marching order, towards Dun-
blane ; but as he still dreaded an attack, he formed his men several
times on the march, wherever he found the ground convenient, and
waited the approach of the enemy. JVIar drew off his men toward Ar-
doch, \i here he passed the night, and Argyle's troops lay under arms
during the night in the neighbourhood of Dunblane.

As might have been expected, on an occasion of such dubious
success on either side, both parties claimed a victory, but impartiality
will confer the palm on neither. Argyle, it is true, visited the field of
battle the following morning, which Mar might also have done had he
been inclined, and this circumstance, therefore, can afford no argument
in support of his pretensions. Neither can the capture of standards and
colours by Argyle be considered as a proof of success, for although he
took fourteen colours and standards, including the royal standard called
" tlio Restoration," besides six pieces of cannon and other trophies, IMar,
according to the official Jacobite account, captured four stands of col-
ours, several drums, and about fourteen or fifteen hundred stands of
arms. Accounts the most contradictoiy have been given by both par-
ties of the losses sustained by them. According to the rolls of Argyle's
muster-master general, his loss amounted to two hundred and ninety

SS'i

HISTORY OF THE HIGIH.ANDS.

men killed, a hundred and eighty-seven wounded, and a hundred and
thirty-three prisoners, making a grand total of six hundred and ten,
while the Jacobite account makes the loss in killed and wounded on the
side of Argyle amount to between seven and eight hundred, and states the
number of killed on Mar's side as only one in fifteen to those of Argyle.
On the other hand, the Jacobites state their loss in killed at only sixty,
and that very few of their men were wounded, while the royalists
say that they lost, in killed and wounded, about eight hundred men.*
From these statements, it appears that the main discrepancy relates to
the loss on the Jacobite side, which can neither be admitted to the ex-
tent of the royalist account, nor considered so low as that given by
the Jacobites. But even supposing the royalist statement correct, the
comparative loss of the insurgents scarcely exceeded one-third of that
sustained by the government forces.

Several otlicers were killed on the royalist side. Among the wounded
was the earl of Forfar, a brave officer who conunanded Morison's regi-
ment. He received a shot in the knee, and sixteen other wounds, of
which he died at Stirling about three weeks after the battle. Several
persons of distinction were killed on the side of the insurgents, among
whom were the earl of Strathmore, and the captain of Clauranald. A
considerable number of gentlemen were taken prisoners by Argyle, but
many of them escaped, and he was only enabled to carry eighty-two of
them to Stirling. Of this number were Lord Strathallan, Thomas
Drummond his brother, Walkinshaw of Barrowfield, Drummond of
Logie-Drummond, and Murray of Auchtertyre.

On whichsoever side success lay, the battle, in its consequences, was
most important in many respects to the government, as it was imme-
diately followed by the desertion of a considerable number of the clans.
With the exception of the Macdonalds, who particularly distinguished
themselves on the right, and the Perthshire and Angus horse who with-
stood the repeated shocks of Argyle's cavalry, the remainder of the in-
surgent army made little resistance. The Macphersons and Macgre-
gors did not join in the contest at all, but looked on as if unconcerned
about the result. Some of the clans, disgusted at the pusillanimity or
indifference exhibited by their associates, and others dispirited by the
firmness displayed by the government forces, returned to their homes,
thus verifying the observation made by a Jacobite in reference to the
clans, that whether victorious or beaten, they would run away and go
home. The defection of these clans was a severe blow to Mar, and
made him abandon the idea of crossing the Forth. He, therefore, re-
turned to Perth with the remains of his army, and to encourage the
friends of the Jacobite interest, circulated the most favourable ac-
counts of his alleged success at Sheriifmuir, and of the state of the
Chevalier's aflairs, although he himself began to consider them despcr-

CAPTUHE OF INVERNESS. 327

at*-.* Tlie duke of Argylc, on the other Iiar.cl, retired to his original
lioail-qiiarters at Stirling, intending to resume offensive operations as
soon as some expected reinforcements should arrive.

The attempt of Mar to disguise the real slate of matters was too
gross to deceive his adherents, and there were not a few who already
began to entertain thoughts of malving their own terms with the gov-
ernment ; Ijut the Higldand chiefs and the principal officers remained
firm, and urged iMar to risk anotlier battle even with his reduced forces.
Tlie earl, Iiowever, though personally brave, was not the man to com-
ply with an advice so ojjposed to the rule he liad laid down for himself,
never to engage without a very superior force on his sitl.e. But had he
been of a ditierent opinion, an event of which he soon received intel-
ligence would probably have precluded him from moving a second time
upon Stirling. This was tlie capture of the important fort of Inverness,
by a party of the Erasers, Grants, and others, headed by Simon Fraser
of Beaufort, better known in history as Lord Lovat ; who, to pro-
mote his own personal interest with the government, had taken a
decided part against the Chevalier. The clannish principle that obedience
to a chief is the first of duties, was fully exemplified on this occasion, by
the defection of a large body of the Frasers, who had joined Mar's
standard under Fraser of Fraserdale, in the absence of their chief.
The earl of Seaforth, the greater part of whose men had returned
home, was despatched to the north on receipt of this intelligence, for
the purpose of collecting forces, and of attempting, in conjunction with
(he marquis of Huntly, who was also sent north with his horse, ths
reduction of Inverness.

It has been remarked as a singular circumstance in this history of
Mar's insurrection, that the three important events which decided its
fate shouhl have occurred in regular daily succession. Inverness was
captured on the twelfth of November, and on the same day Mackintosh's
forces, cooped up in Preston, had to maintain a precarious struggle
against the attacks of Wells' army. Next day witnessed the battle
of Sheriffinuir, and at the very time the insurgents in Preston were
offering terms of surrender, the right wings of Argyle's and Mar's
armies were pursuing, witii all the confidence of victory, the wings to
which they were respectively opposed. And lastly, while on the four-
teenth the insurgents in England were capitulating at Preston, the two
rival armies in the north were retiring to their head quarters, each of
them claiming a victory.

As the capture of Inverness by the royalists was an important occur-
rence in the history of this short-lived insurrection, some account of it
and of some preliminary circumstances connected therewith may not
be here out of place. So late as the thirteenth of September, only
two months before the battle of Sheriffmuir, and the surrender at
Preston, Brigadier Mackintosh, at the head of five hundred men, had
• -TournaJ of Mai's proceedings, prinlcd M Parre.

I —

328 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

proclaimed the Chevalier in the capital of the Highlands. He had
thereupon demanded possession of some arms and ammunition which
were in Culloden-house, but the lady of Mr Forbes the proprietor,
who was then in London, shut the gates, and refused to deliver up
the kejs. At her desire. Colonel Munro, son of Sir Robert Munro
of Fowlis, who had lately been appointed governor of Inverness,
raised two hundred well-armed men, to protect the lands of Cullodcn ;
but on arriving at the water of Conon with his men, he was induced
to retrace his steps, in consequence of a message from the earl of
Seaforth, threatening to oppose his passage with a body of fifteen
hundred men.

When Mackintosh marched south to join the carl of Mar, a detach-
ment under Sir John Mackenzie of Coul, took possession of Inverness
by desire of the earl of Seaforth. Meantime, Colonel Munro had form-
ed a camp at Alness, where he had collected nearly six hundred of the
Munroes and Rosses, and where he was joined on tlie sixth of October,
by the earl of Sutherland, and the Lords Strathnaver and Rray, who
brought about six hundred additional men along with tliem. Tiie object
of collecting this force was twofold, — first, to protect the territories of the
great northern wbigs from the incursions of a formidable body of eigh-
teen hundred men, which lay encamped at Brahan, under the earl of
Seaforth ; and secondly, by threatening an inroad upon his own lands
and those of his followers, to detain the earl in the north, and thus
prevent his junction with the forces under Mar. By the junction of seven
hundred Macdonalds, under Sir Donald Macdonald, and other minor
accc-sions from the Mackinnons, Macraes, the Cliisholuis of Strathglass,
and other clans, the earl's force was increased to three thousand men.
Thus strengthened, Seaforth left his camp on the ninth of October, to at-
tack the earl of Sutherland, but the latter, on account of the disparitj' of
numbers, made a retreat to the Bonar, after w hich his men dispersed and
returned to their homes. A body of about six hundred Grants, who had
advanced as far as the water of Findhorn, for the purpose of entering
Ross, and joining the camp at Alness, on hearing of the retreat of the
earl of Sutlierlaiid, returned home. At Alness, where Seaforth took up
his quarters, he collected a large quantity of booty from the lands
of the Munroes, and after spending some days there, ho marched to
Inverness, whence he took his departure for the south.

About this time. Lord Lovat arrived in the north, and, in conjunction
with some friends of the government, formed a plan for seizing Inver-
ness. Having collected a body of the Frasers and Grants, he invested
the town, and sent in a detachment under the command of Captain
Arthur Ross, brother to the laird of Kilravock, to surprise it ; but the
detachment was repulsed, and the captain killed. A resolution was
thereupon entered into by the besiegers, to surround the town anil
castle, preparatory to a general assault ; but Sir John Mackenzie, the
Jacobite governor, conceiving himself incapable of making an ctlec-

ARRIVAL OF THE CIlEVALIEIl. 329

tual resistance, evaciiiitfil tlie castip, and crossinjj the Frith with his
men in boats, allowed Lovat to enter tlio town without further opposi-
tion. In retaliation for tlie earl of Seaforth's conduct at Alness, the
earl of Sutherland, after the capture of Inverness, made a journey with
his own men, and parties of the Mackavs, Rosses, and Munroes, through
the country of the Mackenzies, and levied a contribution upon all the
gentlemen of that name, whose tenants had joined Seaforth, equal to six
weeks' provisions, for the number of men they were bound by law to
have furnished the government.*

The arrival of the Chevalier had been long an\iously looked for by
his friends in Scotland. He was now about to gratify their desire of
beholding his person ; but James had already missed the golden oppor-
tunity, which presented itself at an early stage of the insurrection, of
recovering his father's crovvn. Had he, on arriving at St Malo,
whither he proceeded from Lorraine at the breaking out of the insur-
rection, instantly taken shipping, he would not only have complied with
the declared wishes of his adherents, but would have evinced at once a
determination to maintain his claim. Instead of embarking, however,
immediately, as he should have done, he spent so much time in the
shipment of supplies, which he was desirous should precede his de-
parture, that he was at last altogether prevented from sailing by some
men-of-war, which appeared off the harbour of St Malo, and which
had been sent by the British government to intercept him. That he
might not disappoint the expectations of his partizans, he resolved to go
to Dunkirk in quest of shipping, and having traversed the country in
disguise, he embarked at that port, about the middle of December, on
board a small French vessel of eight guns, which had formerly been a
privateer. He was attended by five persons only, who, to prevent
suspicion, were disguised as French officers. Among these were the
marquis of Tynemouth, son of the duke of Berwick, and Lieutenant
Allan Cameron, a son of LocMiel.

If, from the apparent pusillanimity of the prince's conduct at St
Malo, there were persons who felt inclined to question his courage,
they must have been undeceived by this bold and adventurous step.
While at St Malo, he had, to avoid the risk of capture, formed the
design of eschewing both channels, by shipping his course along the
western coast of Ireland, and landing in the western Highlands. In
this way he would have incurred little danger ; but the case was
very different in traversing the German ocean, which was beset by
British men-of-war, which were constantly on the alert. Yet regard-
less of the evident risk which he ran, by attempting a descent upon the
eastern coast of Scotland, he sailed from Dunkirk in the small vessel in
which he had embarked, after leaving instructions to despatch after him
two other vessels which lay in the harbour with his domestics, anil eome

• Uae, p 3'-'«. tl sen.
11 '2 I'

330 HSTORY OF THE HGHLANDS.

Stores for the use of his army. It was the Chevalier's intention to have
landed in the vicinity of the Frith of Tay, and accordingly, after stcerino
in a northerly direction, he stood across for the coast of Angus, which
was descried after a voyage of five days ; but observing, at some dis-
tance, a sail, which he judged to be unfriendly, he altered his course to
northward with the design of landing at Peterhead, of which the Earl
Marischal was the feudal superior. The vessel wliich carried the
Chevalier came, however, sufficiently near to land to intimate by signals
to the friends of the prince in the neighbourhood that he was on board,
which intelligence was immediately conveyed to the camp at Perth,
where it was received witli a feeling of intense deliglit.

The Chevalier arrived off Peterhead, on the twenty second of Decem-
ber, seven days from the date of his departure from Dunkirk, and im-
mediately landed with his small retinue of five persons, all disguised as
seamen, jifter despatching the vessel to France with the news of his
arrival, he and his companions took up their abode in the town for the
night. He passed the next night at Newburgh, a seat of the Earl
Marischal, having previously sent Lieutenant Cameron to Perth with
the intelligence of his landing. The Chevalier continued his journey
towards Perth, and on the twenty fourth, passed incognito through
Aberdeen, and arrived at Fetteresso, the principal seat of the Earl
Marischal, wliere he remained several days. As soon as Lieutenant
Cameron readied Perth, the earl of Mar, the Earl Marischal, General
Hamilton, and about thirty other gentlemen, mounted their horses, anJ
set off to meet the Clicvalier. This cavalcade arrived at Fetteresso on
the twenty seventh, and the persons composing it were introduced to
" the king," and had the honour of kissing his hand. After the break-
ing up of the court, the Chevalier was proclaimed at the gates of the
house, and printed copies of the declaration which he had issued in
Lorraine were immediately dispersed.*

The Chevalier intended to have proceeded next day on his journey
to Perth, but he was detained at Fetteresso till the second of January,
by two successive fits of ague, which, however, did not prevent him
from receiving addresses from the " Episcopal clergy of the diocese ol
Aberdeen," and from the magistrates, town council, and Jacobite inhabi-
tants of the town. The address of the clergy, which was presented on
the twenty ninth of December by the Rev. Drs James and George
Garden, Dr Burnet, and the Rev. Messrs Dumbreck, Blair, and Mait-
land, was couched in very loyal terms, and as embodying the sentiments of
a highly respectable party, deserves something more than a mere passing
notice. Although, among all lovers of rational liberty, there can be little
difference of opinion as to the expediency which dictated tlie expulsion of
the unfortunate race of Stuart from the throne, still we cannot but admire
the firm attachment displayed by the adherents of thai family (o their

• Annals of «nil jvar of George 1 p. 189.

THE CLERGY :> ADDRESS TO THE CHEVALIER. 331

cause, even in its most hopeless state. It was quite natural tor the
catholics to espouse the cause of the Chevalier and his son, as apart
from their principles, which tend to support hereditary succession, these
princes were professed catholics ; but no motives save those of the purest
loyalty could have induced the non-jurant clergy and their flocks to
enlist themselves under the banners of the descendants of a king who
inlrnded, as many believed, perhaps erroneously, to have established
the catholic religion. The catholics had, no doubt, even when labouring
under the most galling restrictions, shown tliem tl:e example by their
stern inflexibility to the two Cliarlcsos, but by comparing the relative
situations of both parties at the period in question, the protestant Jaco-
bites of the north may be considered entitled to the precedence in
disinterestedness.

The address from the clergy, after expressing thanks to God for the
Chevalier's " safe and happy arrival" in Scotland, where his presence
had been so much longed for, thus proceeds : — " We hope and pray that
God may open the eyes of such of your subjects, as malicious and self-
designing men have industriously blinded with prejudices against your
majesty, as if the recovery of your just rights would ruin our religious
liberties and property, which by the overturning of these rights have
been highly encroached upon ; and we are persuaded that your majesty's
justice and goodness will settle and secure those just privileges, to the
conviction of your most malicious enemies.

" Almighty God has been pleased to train up your majesty from
your infancy in the school of the cross, in which the divine grace in-
spires the mind with true wisdom and virtue, and guards it against
those false blandishments by which prosperity corrupts the heart ; and
as this school has sent forth the most illustrious princes, as Moses,
Joseph, and David, so we hope the same infinitely wise and good God
designs to make your majesty, not only a blessing to your own king-
doms, and a true father of them, but also a great instrument of the
general peace and good of mankind.

" Your princely virtues are such, that in the esteem of the best judges
you are worthy to wear a crown, though you had not been born to it ;
which makes us confident that it will be your majesty's care to make
your subjects a happy people, and so to secure them in their religious
liberties and property as to leave no just ground of distrust, and to unite
us all in true Christianity according to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and
the practice of the primitive Christians." After alluding to the pro-
clamation issued by the government for securing the person of the
Chevalier, which is designated as an encouragement to murder, the
addressers assure him that as it had been so it should be their care to
instil into the minds of the people true principles of loyalty to his
" inajestj'." The Chevalier in answer stated, that he was sensible of the
?tal and loyalty which they had expressed for him, and that he shoiil I
bt glad to have opportunities of giving them marks of his favour

332 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

and protection. A si.iiilj.r answer «as returned to the address from
Abenleen.

Wliiie at Fetteresso the Chevalier exercised some ol" the functious of
royalty, by conferring titles of dignity on some of liis adherents. He
raised the earl of Mar to a dukedom ; and, according to report, con-
ferred the honour of knighthood upon Bannerman, the Jacobite provost
of Aberdeen, who presented the address fiom that citj'. Having re-
covered from his attack, the Chevalier left Fetteresso on the second of
January, and went to Brechin, where he passed the night. Next day
he moved forward to Kinnaird, and on the fourth lie removed to Glam-
mis Castle, the principal seat of the earl of Strathmore. At Glammis
Mar drew up a letter, in which he gave a very flattering account of the
Chevalier. As the object of this letter was to impress the people with
a favourable opinion of the Chevalier, Mar ordered it to be printed and
circulated as widely as possible. The letter is written witli address, and
may still be perused with interest:

"Glanics, 5 Jan. 1716.

" I met the king at Fetteresso on Tuesday se'enight, where we staid
till Friday ; from thence we came to Brechin, then to Kinnaird, and
yest(>rday here. The king designed to have gone to Dundee to-day,
but there is such a fall of snow that he is forced to put it oif till to-
morrow, if it be practicable then ; and from thence he designs to go to
Scoon. There was no haste in his being there sooner, lor nothing can
be done this season, else he had not been so long by the way. People,
everywhere, as we have come along, are excessively fond to see him,
and express that duty they ought. Without any compliment to him,
and to do him nothing but justice, set aside his being a prince, he is
really the first gentleman I ever knew : He has a very good presence,
and resembles King Charles a great deal. His presence, however, is
not the best of him. He has fine parts, and despatches all his business
himself with the greatest exactness. I never saw any bodj' write so
finely. He is affable to a great degree, without losing that majesty
he ought to have, and has the sweetest temper in the world. In a word,
he is every way fitted to make us a happy people, were his subjects
worthy of him. To have him peaceably settled on his throne, is what
these kingdoms do not deserve ; but he deserves it so much that I hope
there is a good fate attending him. I am sure there is nothing wanting
to make the rest of his subjects as fond of him as we are, but their
knowing him as we do ; and it will be odd if his presence among us,
after his running so many hazards to compass it, do not turn the hearts,
even of the most obstinate. It is not fit to tell all the ])articulars, but
I assure you he has left nothing undone, that well could be, to gain
every body ; and I liope God will touch their hearts.

" I have reason to hope we shall very quickly see a new face of afiairs
abroad in the king's favour, which is all I dare commit to paper.

"MAR."

rilE CHEVALIER ENTERS I'ERTH.

333

On the morning of the sixth of January the Chevalier Uft Glararais
for Dundee, which town he entered about eleven o'clock a.m. on horse-
bark, amidst the acclamations of the inhabitants, the earl of Mar riding
on his right hand, and the Earl Marischal on his left, and followed by a
train of nearly three hundred adherents on horseback. To gratify the
people who flocked round him eager to behold him and to kiss his hand,
he, at the request of Ids friends, remained about an hour on horseback
at the cross of the burgh, after which he rode out to the house of Stew-
art of Grandtully in the neighbourhood, where he dined and passed the
night. On the following day he proceeded along the Carse of Gowrie
to Castle Lyon, a seat of the earl of Strathmore, where he dined, and
thence to Fingask, the seat of Sir David Threipland, where he spen.
the night. Next day, being Sunday, he took up his abode in the royal
palace of Scoon, where he intended to stay till the ceremony of his
coronation should be performed.

On Monday the Chevalier made his public entrj' into Perth. He
met, however, with a cold reception, and he himself felt evidently dis-
appointed at the appearance of the camp. He had heard much of the
Highland chiefs and the clans, and being desirous to see " those little
kings (the chiefs,) with their armies," as he expressed himself, a select
body of Highlanders exhibited before him. Their appearance gave
him great satisfaction, but when he ascertained the paucity of the num-
ber in the camp, he could not repress the chagrin and disappoint-
ment he felt. On the oilier liand, the friends of the Chevalier were
equally disappointed. Neither his appearance nor demeanour on the
present occasion tended in any shape to justify the exaggerated en-
comiums of Mar, and his lugubrious deportment while at Perth, tended
more to alienate the affections of his adherents, and depress their spirits,
than even the disappointment of supplies from France. The master oi
Sinclair, an eye-witness, thus describes the appearance of the Chevaliei
on his arrival at Perth, his behaviour while there, and their consequent
effects upon his followers.

" His person was tall and thin, seeming to incline to be lean rather
than to fill as he grows in years. His countenance was pale, but per-
haps looked more so than usual, by reason he had three fits of ague
which took him two days after his coming on shore. Yet he seems to be
sanguine in his constitution, and there is something of a vivacity in his
eye that perhaps would have been more visible if he had not been under
dejected circumstances, and surrounded with discouragement, which it
must be acknowledged were sufficient to alter the complexion even of
his soul as well as of his bod3'. His speech was grave, and not very
clearly expressive of his thoughts, nor over much to the purpose ;
but his words were Cew, and his behaviour and temper seemed always
composed. What he was in his diversions we know not : here was no
room for such things. It was no time for mirth. Neither can I saj' I
«ver saw hini smile. Those who speak so positively of his being like

234 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAVDS.

King James VII. must excuse me for saying, mat it seems to say tnej
either never saw this person, or never saw King James VII ; and j'et 1
must not conceal tliat when we saw the man whom they calle<i our king,
we found ourselves not at all animated by his presence ; and if he was
disappointed in us, we were tenfold more so in him. We saw nothing
in him that looked like spirit. He never appeared with cheerfulness
and vigour to aninaate us. Our men began to despise him ; some asked
if he could speak. His countenance looked extremely heavy. He
cared not to come abroad amongst us soldiers, or to see us handle our
arms or do our exercise. Some said the circumstances he found us in
dejected him. I am sure the figure he made dejected us ; and liad he
sent us but five thousand men of good troops, and never himself come
among us, we had done other things than we have now done. At the
approach of that crisis wlien he was to defend his pretensions, and either
lose his life or gain a crown, I think, as his affairs were situated, no man
can say that his appearing grave and composed was a token of his want
of thought, but rather of a significant anxiety grounded upon the pro-
spect of his inevitable ruin, which he could not be so void of sense as
not to see plainly before him, at least when he came to see how incon-
sistent his measures were, how unsteady the resolution of his guides, and
how impossible it was to make them agree with one another."*

The Chevalier returned to Scoon in the evening, and notwithstanding
the ominous symptoms of the day, proceeded to form a council prepara-
tory to exercising the functions of royalty. From Scoon he soon issued
no less than six proclamations ; one for a general thanksgiving for his
safe arrival ; another enjoining the ministers to pray for him in the
churches ; a third, establishing the currency of foreign coin ; a fourth,
ordering a meeting of the convention of estates ; a fifth, commanding all
fencible men from sixteen to sixty to repair to his standard ; and a sixth,
fixing the twenty -third day of January for his coronation at Scoon.
These assumptions of sovereign autliority were, however, of a very
evanescent character, as they had scarcely been issued when the Cheva-
lier and his principal friends resolved to abandon the contest as hopeless.
Indeed, from the reduced state of the army, and its deficiency in arms
and ammunition, a determination had been come to by his party, a
month before he landed, to rctiie from Perth as soon as Argyle should
march against it ; but being ignorant of that resolution and believing
that the insurgents intended to defend Perth, Argyle delayed his ad-
vance till he should be joined by large reinforcements from England
and Holland.

Though continued in the command of the army, Argyle, for some
reason or other, was not a favourite at court. Of his fidelity there could
be no suspicion, and his conduct had lately shown that he wanted neither
zeal nor ability to perform the task which had been assigned him. It has

• ,\ liuc atvoui.t i,f tin- proi-.-ulin^s ui IV itli, liy a RtUl.

ARGYLE PREPARES TO MARCH NORTH. 335

bpen conjectured that the leniency which he was disposed to show to-
wards his unfortun;ito countrymen was the cause of tiiat liiddcn displea-
sure which ended in tlie dismissal of himself and of his brotlior, the ear'
of Hay, from all their employments. The rejection of an application
which he made to the government for extended powers to treat
with the insurgents after the battle of Sheriffrauir, goes far to support
the supposition. But whatever were his views, he appeared to be in no
hurry to pursue the insurgents, probably from an idea tliat they would
disperse of their own accord. By the arrival of a body of six thousand
Dutch auxiliaries, and other reinforcements from England, Argyle found
himself, early in January, at the head of upwards of ten thousand men,
besides a large train of artillery. Desirous of expelling the insurgents
from Fife before advancing north, a detachment of Dutch and Scotch
troops crossed the Frith of Forth by the duke's orders, and under cover
of some men-of war, landed at Burntisland, of which they took posses-
sion. On receiving this intelligence the insurgents immediately aban-
doned all the towns on the north side of tlie Frith, a circumstance
which was attended with serious consequences to their friends at Perth,
who were in consequence entirely cut oif from their supplies of coals,
at an unusually inclement season.

About the end of January, Argyle was in full condition to march
north, but the snow, which had fallen to a great deptli, appeared to
him to offer a formidable obstruction to the march of an army unaccus-
tomed to a winter's campaign ; and whicli, from the insurgents having
burnt and destroyed the villages on the road, would have to bivouack
two or three nights in the open air, exposed to all the rigours of an
hyperborean winter. For these reasons Argyle urged, at a council of
war, which was held at Stirling, a postponement of the march ; but
General Cadogan,* who had been sent down to Scotland to hasten the
duke's motions, insisting upon an immediate advance, and having openly
accused Argyle of a want of zeal, his Grace made preparations for
marching, and to facilitate the transport of his cannon and waggons,
issued orders for assembling some thousands of the country people to
clear away the snow.

Although the .lacobite leaders had come to the resolution of aban-

• Tliis olKciT appears to have beeii very supieiuus of Argyle's motives, and did not
hesitate to commuiiicalo his opinion to hii superiors. In a letter to the dulte of Marl-
borough, he says : '* Argyle grows so intolerably uneasy, that it is almost impossible to
live wiih him any longer; he is enraged at the success of the expedition, though he and
his creatures attribute to themselves the honuur of it. When 1 brought him the news of
the rebels having ran from Perth, he seemed thunderstruck; and w.t3 so visibly con-
cerned, that even the foreign officers thai were in the room took notice of it. . . . Since
the rebels quilting Perth, he (ArgyleJ has sent five or six hundred of his Argyleshire
men, who go before tlie army a daj 's majch, to take possession of the towns tlie enemy
have abandoned, and to plunder and destroy the country, which enrages our soldiers, who
are forbid under p;iin of death to take the value of a farthing, though out of the rebel's
houses. Not one of these Argyle-men appeared whilst llie rebels were In Perth, and
nhen they might have been of some use.'' — Coxe's Marlborough, vol, iii. p. C12.

33fi HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Joning Perth as soon as the duke of Argyle should advance ujjon it,
they nevertheless gave indications as if they really meant to hold out
Pursuant to an order of a council, which was held on the sixteenth o(
January, the most strenuous exertions were made to fortify the town, and
both officers and men vied with one anuther in hastening the comple-
tion of the works. What the motives of the leaders may have been in
thus practising a deception upon the army, it is impossible to conceive ;
perhaps the distant hope of being joined by the more remote clans, the
. chance of some fortunate^ though unlooked for, occurrence in the chap-
ter of accidents, or an idea that their men could not be otherwise kept
together, may have been the inducing causes of these defensive prepar-
ations ; but whatever their motives were, the apparent determination
shown by the leading men to meet the enemy, had the most beneficial
efliect upon the army, which evinced a strong desire to engage. In this
wish they thought they were to be gratified sooner than they expected
by the arrival of some country people at Perth wl.o brought intelli-
gence that Argyle was advancing with all his cavalry, and four thousand
foot mounted on horses. This news was, however, premature, and had
originated in the appearance of a reconnoitering party of two hundred
dragoons, w hich Argyle had sent forward on the road to Perth, on the
twenty-first of January, and which the fears of the people had magni-
fied into an army.

All doubts, however, were removed in a few days, by the receipt oi
authentic intelligence at Perth, that Argyle having completed his ar-
rangements, was to leave Stirling for Perth on the twenty-ninth of Jan-
uary, with his whole army. The councillors of the Chevalier were dis-
mayed at this intelligence, but it had quite an opposite effect upon the
mass of the army. Nothing was to be heard in the Jacobite camp but
the voice of joy and rejoicing, and congratulations, on tlie supposed
happy result of an encounter with the enemy, were exchanged on all
sides — between the officers and gentlemen volunteers, and the common
soldiers and clansmen. While the former were pledging each other in
their cups and drinking to " the good da3'," so near at hand, as they
thought, which was to crown the Chevalier's arms with victory, the latter,
amid the din of the warlike bagpipe, were to be seen giving each other a
cordial shake of the hand as if fully assured of success.

Whilst these congratulatory exhibitions were going on, the councillors
of the Chevalier were deliberating upon the course thej' should pursue ;
but although they sat during the whole night tli; y could come to no de-
cided resolution. When the irresolution of the council became gener-
ally known, the men could not restrain their indignation, and a general
opinion began to prevail among them, that they had been be trayed.
Impressed with this feeling, they became mutinous, and carried their
insubordination so far as to insult the officers, whom they supposed had
betrayed them, in the streets, and to load them with reproachful epithets.
The gentlemen volunteers also participated in the same sentiments ; ai;d

MAR RESOLVES ON RETREATING. 337

oiip oflliem from the higher parts of Aberdeenshire was hearU to declare
before a group of malecontcnts assembled in tlie street, that the clans
should take the person of the Chevalier out of the hands of the weak
councillors who surrounded him, adding that he would find ten thousand
gentlemen in Scotland who would hazard their lives for him, if he was
equally ready as a prince to risk his own life in vindicating his right to
the crown. A friend of the earl of Mar, after remonstrating with this

party, asked what they wished their oHiecrs to do " Do,'' replied a

Highlander, " what did you call us to take arms for? Was it to
run away? What did the king come hither for? Was it to see his
people butchered by hangmen, and not strike a stroke for their lives ?
Let us die like men and not like dogs." *

Amid the confusion and perplexity occasioned by such a state of
things. Mar convened another meeting of the council on the evening of
the twenty-ninth, at which a resolution to retreat was entered into
chiefly at the suggestion of Mar. His reasons for advising an abandon-
ment of the enterprise for the present, were, 1st, the failure of the duke
of Ormond's attempt to invade England ; 2dly, the great accession of
force which Argyle had received from abroad ; and, lastly, the reduced
state of the Jacobite forces, which did not exceed four thousand men,
and of whom only about two thousand five hundred were properly
armed.f Besides these there were, according to tlie master of Sinclair,
other reasons of a private nature which influenced Mar to give the advice
he did, the chief of which, says the above-named authoritj-, was that the
earl of Seaforth, the marquis of Huntly, and other Jacobites who were
in treaty with the government, had basely resolved to deliver up the
Chevalier to the duke of Argyle, that they miglit procure better terms
for themselves than they could otherwise expect. This odious charge,
so improbable in itself, not being corroborated by any other writer,
cannot be admitted.

Before communicating to the army the resolution to retreat, a
general meeting of all the oHicers was held at Scone on the following
day, when they were informed of the determination of the previous
evening, and of the reasons whieli had led to it. It was then secretly
resolved that the Chevalier and his principal oflicers should take ship-
ping at Montrose for France, and that the army should be disbanded as
soon as it reached the Highlands, or as soon as eireunistanees permitted;
but to save appearances with the men, it was given out, that as Perth was
untenable, it became necessary to retire to a stronger position, where they
could not only defend themselves, but keep up a more secure and direct
communication with their friends in the north. At this time there were
three ships lying in the Tay off Dundee, which had lately arrived with
si^ppFus from France; and to secure these for the conveyance of the

• True Account of the Proceedings .it Perili, by a rcl(«l.
+ Mar's Jouriiai.

33S HISTOKY OP THE UIGMLANUS.

Chevalier and liis followers, a French officer and clergyman wcie des-
oatched to Dundee with orders to send them down tiie coast to Mon-
trose, there to wait his arrival.*

On the return of the officers to the camp, they promulgated the order
to retreat to tlieir men, and, as might have been anticipated, it was re-
ceived with scorn and contempt. Among the Jacobite iniiabitants of
the town who had sliown themselves ver3' zealous in the cause of the
Chevalier, the intelligence caused nothing but disniaj', as from the pro-
minent and decided part they had taken, they had incurred the penalties
of treason against the government. The morning of the thirty-first oi
January was fixed upon for the retreat, but a body of about eight hundred
Highlanders, disliking the aspect of aft'a'rs, and displeased with the con-
duct of the principal officers, quitted Perth the preceding night for the
Highlands by way of Dunkcld. Preparatory to his departure, the Che-
valier Went from Scone to Perth in the evening, and took up his residence
in the house of Hay the provost, a staunch Jacobite, where he supped
and passed the night. At ten o'clock next morning the rebels began their
march across the Tay, which was covered with ice of extraordinary
thickness. About noon the whole army had passed, and was on the
march to Dundee along the Carse of Gowrie.

Meanwhile, the duke of Argyle was advancing upon Perth as fast as
the nature of the difficulties he had to contend with would admit of. He
had left Stirling on the twenty-ninth of January, and marched to Dun-
blane. Next day he advanced as far as Auehterarder, which had been
entirely burnt by the rebels. Here they passed the night upon the
snow without " any other covering than the fine canopy of heaven."f
On the following day a detachment of two hundred dragoons and four
hundred foot, which had been sent forward to protect the country people
who were engaged in clearing away the snow, took possession of the castle
ol' TuUibardine, tlie garrison of which had capitulated. The duke ol
Argyle had resolved to take up his quarters for the night in this fort-
ress ; but receiving intelligence that the rebels had retired from Perth
tliat morning, he ordered a party of four hundred dragoons and a thou-
sand foot to hasten forward to take possession of that town. The duke
at the head of the dragoons, arrived at Perth about two o'clock in the
moimng of the first of February ; but the foot, which were greatly
fatigued, did not come up till ten o'clock. The remainder of the duke's
army reached Pirth tli;it cvining.

The distance from Stirling to Perth is only thirty-four miles, yet such
was the obstruction that Argyle's army met with from the snow, tiial
their march occupied three entire days. The difficulties of the march
Biui the privations which his men had sufi'ired by resting two nights on
the sncw, exposed to all the severities of the weather, had so exhauhted

lie Account of llie Proceedings al Vt
mats of George 1. vol. ii. p. 25S.

MUTINOUS STATE OF THE INSUROoNT ARMY 339

his men, that it was not till tlie day alUir his arrival at Perth that thi
duke could muster a force sufficiently strong to pursue the enemy.

Oil the second of February Argyle left Perth at the head of six squa-
drons of dragoons, three battalions of foot, and eight hundred High-
landers. He stopt at Errol that night, and entered Dundee next day.
Having learned that the Clievalier had left Dundee the preceding day on
his way to Montrose, the duke sent forward a detachment towards Ar-
broath, and being joined by the remainder of his army on tlie fourth of
February, he despatched on the same day three battalions of foot, five
hundred of his own Higlilanders, and fift\' dragoons, towards Arl)roath,
and another detachment of three hundred foot, and fi'tv dragoons, in the
direction of Brechin; but their march was retarded for some time by the
snow. On the fifth the duke followed with the remainder of the army;
and while he himself, at the head of the cavalry, took the high road tc
Brechin, General Cadogan witli the infantry marched in the direction
of Arbroatli.

During the retreat to Montrose, suspicions began to be entertained
in the Chevalier's army, that it was his intention to embark for
France, notwithstanding the assurances of the principal officers to the
contrary. The unusual route along the sea-coast gave credence to the
rumour; but when they approached Montrose, and saw some French
vessels lying at anchor oft' the shore, their suspicions were confirmed,
and the men began to manifest symptoms of discontent The insurgent
army arrived at Montrose on the third of February, n here it was in-
tended they should pass the night; but the Chevalier's advisers, alarmeii
at the murmurings of the troops, ordered them to march the same night
towards Aberdeen, where it was given out they meant to make a stand
till succours should arrive from abroad. This assurance had the desired
effect upon the troops, who accordingly began their march in the ex-
pectation that the Chevalier would follow them. To prevent suspicion
his horses were ordered to be brought before the door of the house
where he lodged at the hour appointed for the march, and his guards
were ordered to mount, and to hold tlieraselvcs in readiness to accom-
pany him.

Meanwhile the Chevalier was busily employed in making the neces-
sary preparations for his approaching departure. To relieve his memory
from the imputation of having voluntarily abandoned the brave men who
had taken up arms in his cause, it is due to him to state that he had been
all along opposed to such a step, and it was not until he had been re-
peatedly and earnestly urged by his friends that he could be prevailed
upon to give his consent to retire beyond seas. He said he was ready
to suffer every hardship, and CNpose himself to eveiy danger, rather
than abandon those who had risked their all in his service; but being
a<:sured, in the opinion of his friends, that the course they advised might
be ultimately beneficial to Doth, he reluctantly yielded to their entreat-
ies. His principal motive for acceding to their wishes was the toiisid-

:340 HISTOllV OF THE HIGHLANDS.

eration that, if reliovcd from his presence, the governincDt might be
disposed to give better terms to his followers than they would be other-
wise disposed to grant.*

Before his departure he ordered a eoramission to be drawn up, by
wliich he appointed General Gordon commandei'-in-cliief, with all ne-
cessary powers, and particularly with authority to treat with the enemy
He wrote, at the same time, a paper containing liis reasons for leaving
the kingdom, and along with wliich lie delivered to the general all the
money in his possession, (excepting a small sum which he reserved tor
defraying the expenses of himself and suite,) with instructions, after pay-
ing the armj', to apply the residue in indemnifying the inhabitants of
the villages which had been burned, for the losses sustained bj' them. At
the same time the Chevalier put the following letter to the duke of Ar-
gyle, which he had dictated to a secretary, into the hands of General
Gordon, respecting the appropriation of the money so left. It is an
Interesting document, and exhibits the humanity of the prince in a fii-
vourable point of view : —

" For the Duke of Argil.

" ^loiiross, \th Fehrmtry, 171b

•' It was the view of delivering this my ancient kingdom from tlu'.
hardship it lay under, and restoring it to its former happiness and inde-
pendency, that brought me into this country ; and all hopes of effectu-
ating that at this time being taken from me, I have been reduced much
against my inclination, but by a cruel necessity, to leave the kingdom
with as many of my faithful subjects as were desirous to follow me, or
I able to carry with me, that so at least I might secure them from the
utter destruction that threatens them, since that was the only way left
me to show them the regard I had for, and the sense I had of their un-
paralleled loyalty.

" Among tlie manifold raortifieations I have had in this unfortunate
expedition, that of being forced to burn several villages, &c. as the only
expedient lefl me for the publick security, was not the smallest. It was
indeed forced upon rae by the violence with which my rebellious sub-
jects acted against me, and what they, as the first authors of it, must
be answerable for, not I : however, as I cannot think of leaving this
country without making some provision to repair that loss, I have,
tlierefore, consigned to the magistrates of the sum of , de-
siring and requiring of you, if not as an obedient subject, ac least as a
lover of your country, to take care that it be employed to the designed
use, that I may at least have the satisfaction of having been the destruc-
tion and ruin of none, at a time I came to free all. Whether you have

DEPARTUHE OF THE CHEVALIER FOR FRANCE 341

yet received my letter,* or what effect it hath had upon you, x am as
yet ignorant of; but what will become of these unhajipy nations is but
too plaine. I have ncglect^nl notliing to render thera a free and pros-
perous people ; and I fear they will find yet more than I the smart of
preferring a foreign yoak to that obedience they owe me ; and what
nmst those who have so obstinately resisted both my right and my cle-
mency have to answer for ? But however things turn, or Providence is
pleased to dispose of me, I shall never abandon my just right, nor the
pursuits of it, but with my life ; and beseech God so to turn at last the
hearts of my subjects, as that they may enjoy peace and happiness by
submitting to what their interest and duty equally require of them. As
for your own particular, you might, if you had pleased, joined interest
and greatness in your own person ; but, though you have refused to do
that, I must earnestly request of you to do at least all in your power to
save your country from utter ruin, and to be just at least to them, since
you are it not to me.

" f I thought to write tliis in my own hand, but had imt lime.

" JaMI!S R.

This letter was accompanied by a note of the following letter to
General Gordon, written in the Chevalier's own hand : —

• It is presumed this is the letter alluded to in a conversation between Lockhart of
Caniwaiii, and Cai>tain Dougall Campbell, who is represenled by him as *' a person of
great north and loyalty, and a bosonie friend of .\rgjle's." " Being with me (says Lock-
hart) at nty country house, he (Campbell) askt me if 1 heard Argyle blam'd for hav-
ing received ajid given no answer to a letter writt to him by the king whilst he was at
Perth. 1 told liint 1 liad, but could not agree with those who censured him, for I had
such an abhorrence of breadi of trust, that had I been the duke's adviser, it should have
been to doe as he did; for tho there was nothing 1 so much desired as to see him en-
gaged in the king's cause, 1 wisht it done in a way consistent with his honour. Captain
Campbell smiled and told me, he was to acquaint me of a secret which he must pre-
viously have my solemn word I would communicate to none, which he had given when
it was revealed to him, having however obtained liberty aftenvards to speak of it to me.
.\fter giving him the assurance he demanded, he told me that the letter was not delivered
to the duke, for in his late Highland progress, he saw it and another to Loid Isla in the
bands of the pereon to whose care they were committed, (but who that person was he
would not tell me), who receiving them unseal'd,' did not, after perusal, think it for the
king's service to deliver Ihem, thai to the duke being writt in a style by no means to be
approved of; *and, indeed,' added Campbell, 'when 1 read them, I was entirely ot
the same mind, and could not but think that Mar or some other person, with a view ol
rallier widniiig than healing the breaches, had prevail'd with the king to write after Uiut
manner.' The letter to Isla was writt as to a man of business, insisting on the un-
happy state of Scotland, and that nothing but a dissolution of tlie union by Uie king's
restoration, could prevent the utter ruin of that country. That to the duke did incite
him to return to his iojalty and duty, threatening him, if he neglected, with revenge
and the utter extirpation of his family, for what he and his predecessors bad done in thie
and the last centui-y. I doe not pretend to narrate the precise words of this letter, nor
did Campbell mention tliem as such to me; however, I have narrated what be said waa
the aim ami pujport of the letter."— Lockban Papers, vol. ii. p. 14, K.

+ What fiillons is in the Chevalier's own band-writing. The original document is in
the Fin;;a-k family ; ol course, it had never been deliveied to the dnke.

342 tllSTOUY OF THE Iliaill.ASDS.

" General Gordon is hereby empowered, as soon as he has no other

further occasion for the money left in his hands for the subsistence of

'the troops, to forward, if lie thinks fitt, the enclosed letter to the dnke

of Argil, and to fill up the blanks of my letter with the name of the

town where he shall leave the money, and the sumni he shall leave.

" James R."

It was not until the eve of his departure that James thought of se-
lecting tlip persons he wished to accompany hiui in his fliglit, but the
near approach of the enemy, of w hose motions he had just received in-
telligence, and the murmurings and jealousies of his troops compelling
hira to hasten his departure, he was narrowed in his choice, as some of the
friends, whose presence he desired, were at some distance from Montrose.
The first individual he pitched upon was Mar; but the earl begged that
he might be left behind with the army. The Chevalier, however, in-
sisted that he should go ; and on representing to him that reasons al-
most equally strong existed for Mar's departure .is for his own, that his
friends would make better terms with the government wifliout him than
witli him, and that his services could be of no use in Scotland under
existing circumstances, he gave his consent.

Matters being adjusted, the Chevalier left his lodgings privately about
nine o'clock of the evening of the fourth of February, accompanied only
by one ol his domestics, and having met Mar at his lodgings, they bolh
proceeded by a private way to the beach, where a boat was lying in
readiness to receive them, and in which thcj' were carried on board a
small French vessel wliich lay at a little distance from the shore. The
boat was immediately sent back, and returned in about a quarter of
an hour with the earl of Melfort, Lord Drummond, and the remainder
of the Chevalier's suite. Being favoured with a fresli breeze from the
west-south-west, the vessel stood directly out to sea, and after a voy-
age of five days, arrived in safety at Waldam, near Gravelines in French
Flanders.

The insurgents under General Gordon marched to Abi'rdecn, which
they entered on the morning of. the sixth of February. Here he com-
municated to his men the paper of instructions he had received from
the Chevalier, and which he informed them he had received orders not
to open till their arrival at Aberdeen. In this writing the prince com
plained of the disappointments he had met with, particularly from abroad,
and informed the army of the necessity he was under, for his own pre-
servation, to leave the country. He thanked them for having entered
so cheerfully into his service, and imputed the failure of the enterprise
to the apathy of others, who had not seconded their efforts as they had
promised to do. He advised them to consult their own safety by keep-
ing together in a body under General Gordon till he should order them
to disperse, and concluded liy e;:couraging them to hope for better times.

DISPEnsiOK OP THE IN'Sl'KGESIS. 84«J

Allrr reading this document, the General notified to his men that their
pay would cease after that day.

General Cadogan arrived at Montrose in the arteniooi; of the fifth of
February with three regiments of foot, and six hundred of Argyle's
Highlanders, and the duke reached Brechin with the dragoons the same
night. The whole royalist forces continued their march the following
day towards Aherdeon, but tlu y could not overtake the insurgents who
were nearly two ilays' march in advance. The latter left Aberdeen on
the seventh, and the duke of Argyle entered it the following day at the
head of four hundred dragoons. The main body of the insurgents,
eiiiefly foot, marched in the direction of Old Meldrum, but a party of
about two hundred horse, among whom were many officers and gentle-
men volunteers, took the route to Peterhead, where some vessels were
lying to carry theni to France. The duke of Argyle, without wait-
ing for the coming up of the rest of his army, immediately sent two
hundred dragoons, and a party of foot under Major-General Evans, to
cut oft' the retreat of the latter, but he did not overtake them. Up-
wards of a hundred of the gentlemeii composing this party escaped to
France.

Meanwhile the insurgents continued their march westwards into Mo-
ray, and after marching through Strathspey, retired into Badenoch,
where they quietly dispersed. During their retreat, however, many,
whose houses lay contiguous to their route, gradually witlidrew from the
ranks, so that before their arrival in Badenoch a considerable reduction
had taken place in their numbers. Though closely pursued by Argyle's
troops, the insurgents did not lose a hundred men during the whole re-
treat, so well and orderly was it conducted by the Jacobite commander.

After the dispersion of the insurgents, about one hundred and sixty
officers and gentlemen-volunteers who had followed the army into the
Highlands, healing that two French frigates, destined to receive on
board such of the adherents of the Chevalier as might be inclined to
retire abroad, had arrived off the Orkney coast, sallied from the hills
on horseback, and crossing the low couutry of Moray embarked in
boats at Burgh- head, and landed in Caithness. From Caitliness they
proceeded to the Orkney islands, where they had the good fortune to
reach the French ships which carried them to Gottenburg. Among
this party were Lord Dufi'us, who, being a seaman, entered into the
naval service of the king of Sweden. Sir George Sinclair, Sir David
Threipland of Fingask, and General Eckline. Most of these refugees
entered into the Swedish army then about to invade Norway.

Thus ended an enterprise badly coi:trived, and conducted throughout
without sutfinient judgment or energy. Yet notwithstanding tlie disad-
vantages under which it was attempted, it might have succeeded, if the
efforts of the Scottish Jacobites had been seconded by the Jacobites of
England; but tiie latter, though decidedly lio.^tile to the Huuse of

344

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Brunswick, were not inclined to risk their lives and fortunes in a doubt-
ful contest, in support of the pretensions of a prince known to them
only bj' name, and to wliose religion many of them felt a deep-ioole:i
repugnance.

I

monk's totter, PERTn,

CHAPTER XV.

tvetarn of the Duku uf Argyle to Edinburgh — Trial of Lord Charlis Murray .mi
oUiers — Execuliun of Major Nuirne, Captain Lockhart, and others— Impeuchnient
and trial of the Jacobite Peers taken at Preston — Ineffectual iipplicalions fur mercy —
Proceedings in parliament — Address to the King in behalf of Ihe condemned Lords
by the House of Peers— Dismissid from office of Peel's who supported the petition of
the Jacubite Lords -Escape of the Earl of Nithsdale — Execuliun of the Earl of Der
wenlwater and Viscount Kenmure — Trial and condemnation uf the Earl of Wintoii
— Escapes lo France — Bills of high treason against Brigadier Mackintosh and others
— t^scape of Mackintosh, Forster, and others — Executions in London and Lancashire
—Reaction againstlhe government — Septennial act — Priceedingsof General Cadogan
in the Highlands — Commissio'i of Ojerand Terminer — Act of grace — Dismissal of the
duke of Argyle from office— Continental affairs — Plan of an invasion by Russia and
Sweden — Rupture with Spain — Intrigues of the Jacobites at Madrid — Spanish inva-
sion threatened — Sailing and dispersion of the Spanish fleet — Landing and surrender
of a body uf Spaniards in the western Highlands.

After the flight ari'I dispersion of tlie insurgents, the duke of
Argyle returned to Edinburgh about the end of February, where he
was magnificently entertained by the magistrates of the city, whence
he set off for London on the first of March. He had left instructions
with General Cadogan to keep up a communication with the Whig leaders
in the north, and to distribute the troops in quarters contiguous to the
adjoining Highlands, that they might be the more readily assembled to
repress any fresh insurrection which might break out. To keep some
of the disaffected districts in check, parties of Higldanders were placed
by Lord Lovat and Brigadier Grant, in Brahan castle, and in Erchles
and Borium ; the former the seat of the Chisholm, the latter that o/
Brigadier Mackintosh.

The fate of the prisoners taken at Preston remains now to be told-
The first who were tried were Lord Charles Murray, Captain Dalziel,
brother to the earl of Carnwath, Major Nairne, Captain Philip Lock-
iiart,* brother to Lockhart of Carnwath, Captain Shaftoe, and Ensign

• Mr Lockhart, alluding to the fate of his brother, feelingly observes, " I lost a brother
w !io, had he lived, had been a credit tu his country, being a person of great worth and merltr
And 1 may be indulged so far as to be alloived to do some little justice to his memory,
by taking notice thiit he ditd like a suint and hero. Fur at his tiyall ht; told his judges
that he was no officer under ther king, for the half-pay wiiich he received was onlj
a recompence i.»-hich the parliament thought fit to give htmonaccount of his having faith-
fully served Queen Anne, and therefore he wasiiot legally subject to a cnuit-martiall.

VV hen he was led out to the place of execuiion, the officers uf the oilier side who were
his old companions, owned he walked with Ihe same lively genteel air as he used at the
head of his company, and having told them he was never aiFraid of powder, hjkI
much less now in so good a cause, he declined tying a napkin over liis face; and
having with groat devotion recommended himself to God, he cocked his haf, and calling
on them to du ther last, he iook'd deaih and his murderers in the face, and received tiie
shots which put an end lo h's dayes in the twenty-fifth year of his age." — IMpmnir^,
vol. i. p. .196 7.

H. ^ X

3-4r» HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS

Naiine. These six were tried before a court luartial at Preston, and all,
witli tlie exception of Captain Dalziel, having been proved to have
been officers in the service of government, were condemned to be shot
Lord Charlps Murray received a pardon through tlie interest of hia
friends. Tiie remainder suffered on the second of December, seventeen
hundred and fifteen.

The English parliament met on the ninth of January. Immediately
on the return of the commons from the house of lords, where thej' had
been hearing tlie speech from the throne, they agreed, on the motion of
Mr Lechmere, to impeach Lords Derwentwater, Nithsdale, Wintoun,
Carnwath, and Kcnmure, of high treason. The articles of impeach-
ment were carried up to the lords the same night, and on the next day
these peers were brought to the bar of the house of lords to hear the
articles of impeachment read. They were brought back fiointlie Tower
on the nineteenth, when they all pleaded guilty to the charge of high
treason, except the earl of Wintoun, who petitioned for a longer time
to give in his answers. The rest received sentence of death on the ninth
of February, in Westminster-hall. The countess of Nithsdale and Lady
Nairne surprised the king as he was passing through his ajiartments at
St James's, and throwing themselves at his feet implored his mercy in
behalf of their husbands ; but he turned away from them with con-
temptuous indifference. The countess of Derwentwater was equally
unsuccessful, though introduced by the dukes of Richmond and St
Albans into the king's bed-chamber, and accompanied by the duchesses
of Cleveland and Boltoji.

This refusal on the part of the king, raised up a number of advocates
in both houses of parliament, in behalf of the unfortunate noblemen.
.Availing themselves of this feeling, the ladies of the condemned lords,
accompanied by about twentj' others of equal rank, waited in the lobby
of the house of peers, and at the door of the house of commons, and
solicited the intercession of both houses. Next daj' they petitioned the
houses. 'J'he commons rejected the application, and to get quit of fur-
ther importunity adjourned for six or seven days, by a small majority j
but the result was different in the house of lords. Petitions, craving
the intercession of that house, were presented fi'om the condemned
peers, which being read, after considerable opposition, a motion was
made to address his majesty to grant them a reprieve. This occasioned
a warm debate ; but before the vote wa.s taken, an amendment was pro-
posed to the effect, that liis majesty should reprieve such of the peers
as should seem to deserve his mercy. It was contended by the sup-
porters of the original address, that the effect of this amendment would
be to destroy the nature of the address, as from the nature of the sen-
tence which had been passed, none of the condemned peers could ili-
seii-e mercy ; but the amendment was substituted, and on the vote being
taken, whether the address should be presented, it was camcti present, by
a majority of five votes. It is said that on one of the peers afterwards

tXtCUTlON llF THli liAKL Of DEU WE« 1' W ATKH. iJ47

observing to the mover of tlie amendment, that it looked as if its ob-
joct was to defeat tlie vote, and malis it of no use to the persons for
whose Ijenefit it was intended, tlie proposer observed, that such was his
intention in moving it.*

Tlie king was evidently chagrined at the conduct of the house, and
when tlie address was presented, he informed the deputation, that on
this as on all other occasions he would do what he thought most consis-
tent with the dignity of the crown, and the safety of his people. The
carl of Nottingham, president of the council, who had supported the
petitions of the condemned lords, together with Lord Aylesford, his
brother, chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, Lord Finch, his son,
one of the lords of the treasury, and Lord Guernsey, master of the
jewel office, were all removed from office ; and to show the determin-
ation of the king, orders were issued on the same day the address was
delivered, for executing the earls of Derwentwater and Nithsdale, and
Viscount Kenmure the following day. The other three peers were
reprieved to the seventh of March. The earl of Nithsdale made his
escape the night before the execution, dressed in female attire, which
his mother, and some other ladies who paid him a visit, had provided.
When the king heard of his escape next niorning, he observed, that " it
was the best thing a man in his condition could have done."f

On the morning of the twenty-fourth of February the earl of Derwent-
water and Viscount Kenmure were beheaded on Tower- hill. On as-
cending the scafTold, Derwentwater knelt down, and having spent some
time in prayer, he got up, and drawing a paper out of his pocket,
read aloud as follows : —

" Being in a few minutes to appear before the tribunal of God, whera
though most unworthy, I hope to find mercy, which I have not found
from men now in power: I have endeavoured to make my peace with
his Divine Majesty, by most humbly begging pardon for all the sins of
my life : And I doubt not of a merciful forgiveness through the merits
of the passion and death of my Saviour, Jesus Christ; for which end I
earnestly desire tlie prayers of all good Christians.

" After this I am to ask pardon of those whom I might have scandal-
ized by pleading guilty at my trial. Such as were permitted to come
to me, told me, that having been undeniably in arms, pleading guilty
was but the consequence of having submitted to mercy ; and many ar-
guments were used to prove that there was notliing of moment in so
doing ; among others, the universal practice of signing leases, whereof
the preambles run in the nanie of the person in possession.

" But 1 am sensible that in this I have made bold with my loyalty,
having never any other but King James the Third for my rightful and
law ful sovereign ; him I had an inclination to serve from my infancy,
and was moved thereto by a natural love I had to his person, knowing

» Anrals of the 2() year of George [. p. 248.
+ Sfale Trials, vol. xv.

341* HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

him to be capable of making his people happy : and though he had been
of a different religion from mine, I should have done for him all that lay
in my power, as my ancestors have done for his predecessors ; l)einu
thereunto bound by the laws of God and man.

" Wherefore, if in this affair I have acted rashlj', it ought not to affect
the innocent. I intended to wrong no body, but to serve my king and
country, and that without self-interest ; hoping by the example I gave,
to have induced others to their duty ; and God, who sees the secrets of
my heart, knows I speak truth. Some means have been proposed to
me for saving my life, which I looked upon as inconsistent with honour
and conscience, and therefore I rejected them ; for with God's assistance
I shall prefer any death to the doing a base unworthy action. I only
wish now that the laying down my life might contribute to the service
of my king and country, and the re-establishment of the ancient and
fundamental constitution of these kingdoms, without which no lasting
peace or true happiness can attend them ; then I should indeed part
with life even with pleasure : As it is, I can only pray that those bless-
ings may be bestowed upon my dear country ; and, since I can do no
more, I beseech God to accept of nij' life as a small sacrifice towards it.

" I die a Roman Catholic : 1 am in perfect charity witli all the world;
I thank God for it, even with those of the present government, who are
most instrumental in my death. I freely forgive such as ungenerously
reported false things of me ; and I hope to be forgiven the trespasses of
my youth by the Father of infinite mercy, into whose hand I commend
my soul.

" J.\. Deswentwateii.

'' P.S. If that prince who now governs had given me my life, 1 should
have thought myself obliged never more to have taken up arms against
him."

After he had finished reading the paper, he delivered it to the sheriff
in attendance, who had requested it, and then repeated several peniten-
tial portions of scripture. Turning to the executioner, who solicited his
forgiveness, he told him that he forgave all his enemies, even the most
malicious of them, with all his heart, and that he forgave him. He
thereupon informed the executioner that he would find something he
intended for him in his pocket, (two half broad pieces,) and that he
would receive something additional from a gentleman who held the carls
hat and wig. He then viewed the block, and observing a rough place
in it, he desired the executioner to chip it off. The extraordinary pre-
sence of mind which he displayed astonished the spectators. He knelt
a second time and prayed, and on rising up pulled off his coat and waist-
coat. After telling the executioner that the sign he should give was,
" Lord Jesus receive my soul," and that on his repeating these words tiie
third time he was to do his office, the earl laid his head upon the block,
which, on the given signal, was .severed from his body at one blow

\.tnilrtiTL>n^fvL>u;luii

lions, p. 97

EXECUTION OF VISCOUNT KBNMURE. 349

The executioner, lifling up the head, raised it with botii his handy, and

waliviiifj round the scaffold, cried witli a loud voice, " Behold the head
of a traitor; God save King George."*

Thus perished, in tlie flower of his age, James, earl of Derwentwater,
a man of the most amiable disposition, " brave, open, generous, hospi-
talile, and humane. His fate drew tears from the spectators, and was a
groat misfortune to the country in which he lived. He gave bread to
multitudes of people whom he employed on his estate ; the poor, the
widow, and the orphan, rejoiced in his bounty."t It is almost impossi-
ble to contemplate, even at this distance of time, the unhappy fate of
sueli a man without the deepest emotion. It was reported that the
night before his execution he sent for an undertaker to arrange his
funeral, whom he requested to put a silver plate on his coffin, witli an
inscription importing tliat lie died a sacrifice for his lawful sovereign, but
the undertaker refusing to execute the commission was thereupon dis-
missed.|

As soon as the remains of the earl of Derwentwater were removed,
the Viscount Kenmure was brought up to the scaffold. He was accora-
pa: ied by several friends and two clergymen of the church of England,
of V liich church he was a member. He also disjilayed great firmness and
resolution, and spent some time in earnest prayer, in which his friends
and the clergynien joined. He observed, that he had so little thoughts
of dying so soon that he had not provided a Iilack suit, that he was sorry
for this, as he might have died with more decency. Like Derwent-
water, he expressed his regret for pleading guilty to the charge of high
treason, and prayed for " King James." At taking a last farewell of his
friends he embraced them all most tenderly. He presented tlie execu-
tioner with eight guineas, and, after trying the block by laying down his
bead upon it, told hira that he would not give him any sign, but when
he laid down his head again lie might execute his office as he saw fit.
After praying a short time with uplifted hands, ho advanced to the
fatal block, and laying down his head, the executioner struck it off at
two blows. He thereupon exposed it to the view of the spectators,
using the same exclamation as before. Lord Kenmure brought no pa-
per to the scaffold with him, but shortly after hi^ death a letter w hich he
had written to tlie Clievalier was published, wherein he declared that he
died for his faithful services to him, but hoped the- cause he died for
would flourish after his death. In this letter he maintained the title of
•' the person called the Pretender, whom he believed to be the true son
of .lames the Second." §

The earl of VVintoun, on various frivolous pretences, got his trial

• Annals of 2tl year of Geoigu I. p. 250 ft. seq. t'aillifiil R.sislcr of the l:ile R.bd
lions, p. 87- el. xeq.

t Smollet's History of England, vol. ii. book ii. cliap. i.

t Annals of 2d year of George 1. p. 253.

( State Trials, vol. xv.

350 IltSTOnV OF THE IIIGIILAN'DS.

Ijostpoiied till the fifteenth day of March, when he was brought fanall;
up for trial. The earl, after a trial which occupied two days, was found
guilty, and received sentence of death ; but his lordship afterwards made
his escape from the Tower and fled to France.

On the seventh of April a commission for trj'ing the other rebels met
in the court of Common Pleas, Westminster, when bills of high treason
were found against Mr Forster, Brigadier Mackintosh, Colonel Ox-
burgh, Mr Menzies of Culdares, and seven of their associates, and on
tlie tenth bills were found against eleven more. Forster escaped from
Newgate, and so well had his friends concerted matters, that he reached
Calais in less than twenty-lour hours. The trials of Brigadier Mackintosh
and others were fixed for the fourth of May, but about eleven o'clock
the preceding night, the brigadier and fifteen other prisoners broke out
of Newgate, after knocking down tlie keepers and disarming the senti-
nels Eight were retaken, but Mackintosh and seven others escaped.
The trials of the prisoners who remained proceeded : many of them were
found guilty ; and five, among whom were Colonel Oxburgh and Mr
Paul, a non-jurant clergyman of the church of England, were hanged,
drawn, and quartered, at Tyburn. Twenty-two prisoners were execut-
ed in Lancashire. The remainder of the prisoners taken at Preston,
amounting to upwards of seven hundred, submitted to the king's mercy,
and having prayed for transportation, were sold as slaves to some West
India merchants ; a cruel proceeding, when it is considered that the
greater part of these men were Highlanders, who had joined in the in-
surrection in obedience to the commands of their chiefs.

The severities exercised by the government, and the courage and for-
titude displayed by the unfortunate sufferers, wrought an extraordinary
change in the dispositions of the people, who began to manifest great
dissatisfaction at proceedings so revoking to liumanity. Though the re-
bellion was extinguished, the spirit wliich had animated it still remained ;
and the Tories longed for an opportunity of availing themselves of the
universal dissatisfaction to secure a majority favourable to their views at
the next general election. The Whigs, afraid of the result of an early
election as destructive to themselves as a party and to the liberties of the
country, had recourse toabold measure, which nothing but the most urgent
necessity could justify. This was no other than a plan to repeal the trien-
nial act, and to prolong the duration of parliament. It is said that at
first they intended to suspend the triennial act for one election only, but
thinking that a temporary measure would appear a greater violation of
constitutional law than a permanent one, they resolved to extend the
duration of parliament to seven years. A bill was accordingly brought
into the house of lords on the tentli of April by the duke of Devon-
s'aire, whose father had been one of the chief promoters of the triennial
act.

The reasons on which the bill were grounded, were stated in tho
nreainble of the bill. In the first place it was stated, that the triennial

BILL FOR THE REPEA/. llF THE THIENNIAI, ACT. 3il

act had proved " very grievous and burdensome, by occasioning much
greater and more continued exjienses, in order to elections of members
to serve in parliament, and more violent and lasting heats and animosi-
ties among the subjects of this realm, than were ever known before tlie
said clause was enacted;" and secondly, tliat if continued, it might pro-
bably " at this juncture, wluii a restless and Popish faction are design-
ing and endeavouring to renew the rebellion within this kingiloni, and
an invasion from abroad, be destructive to the peace and security of
the government,"

The bill was supported by the earls of Dorset and Rockingham, the
duke of Argyle, Lord Townshend, and others. On the second reading
a long debate ensued, when the bill was opposed by the whole strength
of the Tory party. On a division, the commitment was carried by
ninety-six votes to sixty-one. So great was the interest excited by the
debate, that the house of lords was crowded with strangers, among whom
were the princess of Wales, a number of ladies of rank, many mem-
bers of the house of commons, and several foreigners of distinction.

A-fter the resolution to commit the bill had been adopted, a protest
was entered, signed by thirty peers, to which protest they annexed their
reasons. As the repeal of the septennial act may soon become a sub-
ject of discussion in the reformed parliament, it is thought that the
grounds urged against its adoption will not be unacceptable to the
general reader. These are as follow :

" 1. Because we conceive that frequent and new parliaments are rev-
ijuired by tlie fundamental constitution of the kingdom, and the practice
thereof for many ages, (which manifestly appears by our records,) is a
sufficient evidence and proof of this constitution.

" 2. Because it is agreed that the house of commons must be chosen
by the people, and when so chosen, they are truly the representatives
of the people, which they cannot be so properly said to be w!>.en con-
tinued for a longer time than that for which they were chosen; for after
that time they are chosen by the parliament and not by the people,
who are thereby deprived of the only remedy which they have against
those who either do not understand, or through corruption, do wilfully
betray the trust reposed in them, whieli remedy is to choose better men
in their places.

" 3. Because the reasons given for this bill we conceive were not
sufficient to induce us to pass it, in subversion of so essential a part of
our constitution.

" 1. For as to the argument that this will encor.ragc the princes and
states of Europe to enter into alliances with us, we have not heard any
one minister assert that any one prince or state has asked, or so mu;h
as insinuated that they wished such an alteration.

" Nor is it reasonable to imagine it ; for it cannot be expected that
any prince or state can rely upon a people to defend their liberties and
interests, who shall be thought to have given up so great a part of tlieir

HISTORY 0» THE HIGHLANDS.

own ; iiov can it be prudent for them to wish such an experiment after

the experience that Europe has hail of the great things this nation \ku
done for them, utiiler tlie constitution whicli is to be altered by this bill.

"But on the other hand, they may be deterred from entering into
measures with us, when they shall be informed, by the preamble of tliis
bill, that the popish faction is so dangerous as that it may be destruc-
tive to the peace and security of the government ; and may apprehend
from this bill, that the government is so weak as to want so extraordin-
ary a provision for its safety, vvliich seems to imply that the gentlemen
of Britain are not to be trusted or relied upon ; and that the goo I af-
fections of tlie peo])le are restrained to so small a number, as that of
which the present house of commons consists.

" 2. We conceive this bill is so far from preventing expejises and
corruptions, that it will rather increase them ; for the longer a parlia-
ment is to last, the more valuable to be purchased is a station in it, and
the greater also is llie danger of corrupting the members of it ; for if
there should be a mini?try who shall want a parliament to screen them
from the just resentment of the people, or from a discovery of their ill
practices to the king, who cannot oiherwise, or so truly, be informed of
them as by a free parliament. It is so much the interest of such a
ministry to influence the elections, (which, by their authority and the
disposal of the public monej', they, of all others, have the best means
of doing,) that it is to be feared they will be tempted, and not fail, to
make use of them ; and even when the members are chosen, they have
a greater opportunity of inducing every man to comply with them tlian
they could have, if not only the sessions of parliament, but the parlia-
ment itself, were reduced to the ancient and primitive constitution and
practice of frequent and new parliaments ; for as a good ministry will
neither practise nor need corruption, so it cannot be any lord's intent
to provide for the security of a bad one.

" 3. We conceive, that whatever reasons may induce the lords to
pass this bill, to continue this parliament for seven years, will be at
least as strong, and may, by the conduct of the ministry, be made much
stronger before the end of seven j'ears for continuing it still longer, and
even to perpetuate it, which would be an express and absolute subver-
sion of the third estate of the realm."

On the sixteenth of April the bill was read a third time, and psise 1
by a majority of sixty-nine votes to thirty-six. Twenty-four peers
thereupon entered another protest. The bill was carried down to the
house of commons by two of the judges on the nineteenth. Though
favourable to the bill, Mr Lechmere opposed its introduction on the
ground that it should have originated in the house of commons. He
said he considered the bill as an imposition upon the commons, as
the lords had taken upon them to direct the house in an affair which
wholly belonged to the commons, who were the euardians of the rights
and liberties of tlii> people The first rending «a.s, however, carru'd in

PROCEEDINGS OF GENEKAL CADOCAN IN TlIK HIGHLANDS. 35a

a house of four hundred and thirty members by a majority of one hun-
dred and twenty votes.

Before the second reading, petitions were presented against tlie mea-
sure from the boroughs of Marlborough, Midhurst, Abingdon, New-
castle-under-Line, from tlie town of Hastings, and the corporation of
Cambridge. More would have been presented if time had been al-
lowed. The apathj' of the people at this crisis is astonishing. On a
division on the second reading, tliere appeared two hundred and eiglity-
fjur for the bill, and one hundred and sixty-two against it. The bill
was read a third time on the twenty-sixth of April, when some addi-
tional petitions were presented against it, and passed by a majority of
one hundred and forty-three votes in a house of three hundred and
eighty-live members. This bill received the royal assent on the seventh of
!May, on which day an act of attainder against the Earl Marischal, Sea-
forth, Southesk, Panraure, and others, also received his majesty's sanc-
tion. An act of attainder against the earl of Mar, the marquis of Tul-
libardine, the earl of Linlithgow, Lord Drummond, and other leaders
of the insurrection, had received the royal assent on the seventeenth of
February preceding. Besides these bills, three others were passed, one
attainting Mr Forster and Brigadier Mackintosh ; another for more
effectually securing the peace of the Highlands ; a third appointing
commissioners to inquire into the estates of those persons who had been
attainted or convicted.

While the parliament was thus engaged in devising measures for
maintaining the public tranquillity. General Cadogan was employed in
dispei'sing some hostile bands of the Clans which still continued to as-
semble with their chiefs in the remoter parts of the Highlands. Hearing
that the earl of Seaforth had retired into the island of Lewis, where he
had collected a considerable body of ids men under the command of
Brigadier Campbell of Ormundel, an officer who had just arrived from
Muscovy, where he had served in the army of the Czar, he sent a de-
tachment into the island under the connuaiid of Colonel Cholmondely
to reduce it. The earl, on the appearance of this force, crossed into
Ross-shire, w hence be escaped to France ; and Campbell being aban-
doned by his men after he had formed them in order of battle, was
taken prisoner while standing in a charging posture. Another de-
tachment under Colonel Clayton, was sent into the isle of Skye, where
Sir Donald Macdonald was at the head of about a thousand men ; but
the chief made no resistance, and having no assurance of piotection
from the government in case of a surrender, retired into one of the
Uists, where he remained till he obtained a ship which carried him to
France. About this time three ships arrived among the western islands
from France with military supplies for the use of the insurgents, but
they came too late to be of any service. Two of them, after taking
seventy gentlemen on board, immediately returned to France, and the
third, which carried fifty chests of small arms, and fifteen barrels of

n. 2 Y

854 HISTORY Oe THE HlnHLAN'DS.

gunpowder, and other military stores, was captured while at anchor near

Uist by an English sliip of war.

In consequence of instructions from go\ernraent. General Cadogan
issued an order, which was intimated at the different parish churches in
the north, requiring the rebels to surrender themselves and to deliver
up their arms, assuring them, that such of them as complied should
have liberty granted to return home in safety, but threatening to punish
rigorously those who refused to comply. This order was generally
obej'ed by the common people in the Lowlands, who had been engaged
in the insurrection ; but few of the Highlanders seemed to regard it.
To enforce compliance, he despatched different detachments through
the Highlands, and took up his quarters at Blair Athol, where he
could more easily communicate with the disaffected districts. He
next removed to Ruthven in Badenoch, and afterwards proceeded to
Inverness, where he received Glengary's submission. Lochiel, Kep-
poch, and Clauranald, had resolved to oppose by force the delivery ol
their arms ; but on hearing tliat Clayton, who had returned from Skye,
had resolved to march from Fortwilliam to Lochiel's house to disarm
the Camerons, these chiefs retired, and their men delivered up their
arms without resistance. Having succeeded in disarming the High-
lands, the general left Inverness on the twenty-seventh of April, leav-
ing General Sabine in command, and proceeded to London. The re-
bellion being now considered completely extinguished, the Dutch
auxiliaries were withdrawn from Scotland, and in a short time there-
after were embarked for Holland.

To try the prisoners contiued in the castles of Edinburgh, Stirling,
Blackness, and other places in Scotland, a commission of oyer and ter-
miner was appointed to sit at Carlisle in December, seventeen hundred
and sixteen. There were nearly seventy arraigned. Of twenty-nine
who were brought to trial, twenty-five pled guilty. Brigadier Camp-
bell of Orraundel, TuUoch of Tannachie, Stewart of Foss, and Stewart
of Glenbuckie, entered a plea of not guilty. The two last having sa-
tisfied the solicitor-general of their innocence, be allowed a writ of ?ioli
prosequi to be entered in their behalf, and Campbell having escaped
from the castle of Carlisle, TuUoch alone stood his trial, but he was
acquitted. Sentence of death was passed upon tlie twenty-five who had
admitted their guilt, and tliirty-six were discharged for want of evidence ;
but the sentence of death was never put into execution. It was wise in
the government to pacify the national disaffection bj' showing mercy.

Following up the same humane view, an act of grace was passed
in seventeen hundred and seventeen by the king and both houses of
parliament, granting a free and general pardon to all persons who had
committed any treasonable offences, before the sixth day of May of that
year, with the exception of those who, having committed such offences,
had gone beyond the seas, and who, before the said sixth day of May,
had returned into Great Britain or Ireland ni'hout his majesty's license

REMOVAL OF THECHEVALIEK FROM FKANCE. 355

or who should on or after the said day return into either of the king-
doms without sucli license. All persons of the name and clan of Mac-
gicgor mentioned in tlie act of tlie first parliament of Cliarles the First,
intituled, " Anorit tlie Clan-Grcgor," were also excepted, as well as all
such persons as should, on the filth day of May, seventeen hundred
and seventeen, remain attainted for high treason. But all such person}
eo attainted, unless specially named, and who had not escaped out o*
prison, were freely pardoned and discliarged. Under this act the earl cS
Carnwath, and Lords Widdrington and Nairne, were delivered from the
Tower: seventeen persons confined in Newgate, the prisoners still re-
maining in the castles of Lancaster and Carlisle ; and those in the cas-
tles of Edinburgh and Stirling, and other places in Scotland, including
the Lords Strathallan and RoUo, were likewise released.

While the Chevalier was preparing to embark for Scotland, the earl
of Stair, (the ambassador at the court of France,) had used every ef-
fort to prevent him. Duclos and others say that Stair not only applied
to the duke of Orleans, the regent, to have the Chevalier arrested, but
that .Inding the regent insincere in his promises of compliance, he sent
persons to assassinate the Clievalier on the road when crossing France
to embark for Scotland. That Stair made such an application, and that
he employed spies to watch the progress of the prince, are circum-
stances highly probable; but both Marshal Berwick and the earl of Mar
discredited the last part of the story, as they considered Stair incapable
of ordering an action so atrocious as the assassination of the prince.*

On the return of the Chevalier, Stair, afraid that he and his parti-
/;ans in France would intrigue with the court, pres nted :i memorial to
the regent in name of his Britannic majesty, in which, after notifying
the ilight of the Chevalier, and the dispersion of his forces, he requested
of the regent that he would oblige the prince to quit France. He
next insisted that " the authors and chiefs" of the rebellion who had
retired to France should be ordered to depart forthwith from France,
that they should never again be permitted to return to that country, and
that the other persons who had been condemned and declared rebels
should not at an}' time enter or reside therein. The earl also solicited
liis royal highness to join with his Britannic majesty, in an application
to the duke of Lorraine to prohibit the Chevalier from returning into
his territory. Finally, as the regent had made a declaration, that the
officers in the service of France who should follow " the Pretender" in
the invasion of Great Britain should be broke, the king of Great Bri-
tain persuaded himself that his royal highness, the regent, would not
suffer the officers who had followed and assisted the prince ever to be
employed again in the service of France. The removal of the Jacobite
exiles from the French court was all that the earl could at that time
obtain from the regent. By an agreement, however, which was sho'-tly

• Mem.de Ko. wi,k. tome ii.

356 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

thereafter entered into between France and England, mutually guaran-
teeing the succession to the crown of France, and the Hanover succes-
sion according to the provisions of the treaty of Utreclit, it was stipu-
lated that the Pretender should be sent beyond the Alps, and should
never be allowed to return again to France or Lorraine on any pretence
whatever, and that none of the rebellious subjects of Great Britain
should be allowed to reside in France.

After the suppression of the insurrection, the leading supporters ol
government in Scotland repaired to London to congratulate George the
First on the success of his arms, and to obtain the rewards they ex
pected. The duke of Argyle, to whose exertions chiefly the king was
indebted for his peaceable accession to the throne, and the extinction oi
the rebellion, was already so overloaded with favours that he could
scarcely expect any addition to be made to thera, and would probably
have been contented with those he had obtained ; but the squadron party
which had been long endeavouring to ruin him, now made every exer-
tion to get hira disgraced ; and being assisted by the ALarlborougU fac-
tion, and a partj' which espoused the interests of Cadogan, they suc-
ceeded with the king, who dismissed the duke and his brother, the earl
of Hay, from all their employments, which were conferred on others.
General Carpenter, to whom the success at Preston was entirely ascrib-
ed, succeeded Argyle in the chief command of the forces in North Bri-
tain ; and the duke of Montrose was appointed lord-register of Scotland
in the room of the earl of Hay.

The aspect of affairs in the north of Europe requiring the king's pre-
sence in his German dominions, an act was passed repealing the claus«
in the act for tlie furflier limitation of the crown, which restricted the
sovereign from leaving his British dominions. He closed the session on
the twenty-sixth of June, and embarked at Gravesend on the seventh of
July for Holland, where he arrived on the ninth. He proceeded to
Loo incognito, and from thence set out for Pyrmont. The object of
this visit will appear from what follows.

Although Spain had been greatly exhausted by the war of the suc-
cession, Philip the Fifth, eager for glory, was desirous of engaging in
a war with the emperor, who refused to resign the title of king of Spain,
for the recovery of the Italian dominions of Spain ; but his minister,
Alberoni, was opposed to an immediate rupture, and pledged himself, that
if Philip would maintain his kingdom in peace for five years, — a period
required by Alberoni for reforming all the departments of the govern-
ment, and rousing the nation from the apathy into which it had sunk,
he would make him the most powerful monarch in Europe.* Philip,
impatient of delay, refused to hearken to the advice of his minister. As
Spain could not, with any reasonable prospect of success, carry on a war
single handed, Alberoni looked round among the leading powers for an

• Li-ltcr of Alberoni to Cnnlin.il P^.olucd.

NEGOTIATIOKS WITH SPAIN. 357

ally who would second the views of his royal master. With France he
could not expect to f< mi ati alliance, as tlie interests of the regent and
Philip were diametric lly opposed, each aspiring to the throne of that
kingdom. He therefore fixed his eyes upon EnglaJid and Holland as the
powers most likely to aid him. With England, it is true, some differ-
ences existed, but these the wily Albcroni resolved at once to remove by
conceding every thing that England could reasonably desire. Tlie com-
merce of England with Spain had been placed in a very unfavourable
situation by some explanatory articles in the treaty of Utrecht, but on
tlie offer of Alberoni, these were abrogated by a new treaty in Decem-
ber, seventeen hundred and fifteen, which restored England to the com-
mercial advantages which she had enjoyed under the Austrian princes.
This proceeding received the cordial sanction of Philip, who, on being
remonstrated with by the Cardinal del Giudice for sucli a change ol
policy, remarked, " I consider the king of England as my brotlier, and
am determined to live in friendship with iiim. Let me liear no more on
tliis subject."* Philip even went so far as to sign a declaration, in which
he stated his determination to give no support to the Chevalier de St
George and his adherents.

Hitherto Alberoni had kept his object out of view, but an attack made
by the emperor of Germany upon the republic of Genoa afforded him
an opportunity of breaking the ice. Against the emperor's violation ol
tlie neutrality of Italy Alberoni made a warm appeal to the king of
Great Britain as the guarantee of that neutrality, and in this appeal he
was backed by the English minister at Madrid, who informed his cabi-
net, that, in his opinion, if the states of Parma and Tuscany were guar-
anteed to the queen of Spain by England, and an English fleet sent out
to support the Spanish squadron in the Mediterranean, Spain would give
the most ample guaranty for the Hanover succession, and would promote
the commercial interests of England. George the First found himself
placed in a singular but fortunate situation, by the offers of Spain.
Equally courted by France and Spain, he had only to choose between
them, and to form that connexion which might be most conducive to
uphold the Protestant succession and to maintain the peace of Europe,
with which the internal peace of Great Britain and the safety of the
reigning family were intimately connected. The alliance of the emperor
and of France being considered as more likely to secure these advan-
tages than a connexion with Spain, the English minister at Madrid was
instructed by the cabinet at home to decline the offers of Spain. " His
majesty," said secretary Stanhope, in his letter to the minister, " is per-
fectly disposed to enter into a new treaty with the Catholic king, to
renew and confinn the past ; but the actual situation of affairs does not
permit him to form otlier engagements, which, far from contributing to

* Coxi's Mfnu,irs of Siiiiiii, c 24.

358 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

preserve the neutrality of Italy, would give rise to jealousies tending to
disturb it."*

To secure the support of the emperor, a treaty was entered into, by
which he and the king of England reciprocally rigreed to assist each
other in the defence of their respective territories. This was followed
by the agreement with France, to which allusion has been made, and hi
January, seventeen liundred and seventeen, a triple alliance was entered
into between England, France, and Holland, by which the contracting
parties mutually guaranteed to one another the possession of all ])laces
respectively held by them. The treaty also contained a guaranty of
the Protestant succession on the tlyone of England, as well as that of
the duke of Orleans to the crown of France.

The king of Spain was greatly exasperated when he first received in-
telligence of the treaty between the king of England and the emperor,
but .^Iberoni still continued to court the good will of England, which he
hoped one-day to turn to good account. Anxious to preserve the peace
of Europe, the parties to the triple alliance, immediately after its ratifi-
cation, endeavoured to negotiate between Philip and the emperor, but
their proposals not being relished by the former, he refused to acquiesce
in them, and proceeded with his warlike preparations. Baffled in all
his attempts to draw England into an alliance against the emperor, Al-
beroni looked to the north, where he hoped to find allies in the persons
of the king of Sweden and the czar of Muscovj'. Both Peter the Great
and Charles the Twelfth were highly incensed against the elector of
Hanover, the former for resisting the attempts of Russia to obtain a foot-
ing in the empire, the latter for having joined the confederacy formed
against him during his captivity, and for having accepted from the king
of Denmark tlie duchies of Bremen and Verden, Swedish possessions,
which had been conquered by Denmark during the absence of Charles.
Charles, to revenge himself, formed the design of restoring the Stuarts,
and by his instructions, Goertz, his minister in England, began to cabal
with the English Jacobites, to whom, in name of his master, he promised
to grant assistance in any eflbrts they might make to rid themselves of the
elector. It was w hispered among the Scottish Jacobites, that " the king,"
as they termed the Chevalier, had some hopes of prevailing on Charles to
espouse his cause, but the first notice on which they could place any
reliance was a letter from the earl of Mar to one Captain Straiton, which
he directed to be communicated to the bishop of Edinburgh, Lord Bal-
merino, and INIr Lockhart of Carnwath, and in which he suggested, that
as there was a great scarcity in Sweden, the friends of the Chevalier should
purchase and send five or six thousand bolls of meal to that country.
Their poverty, however, and the impracticability of collecting and send-
ing such a large quantity of food out of the kingdom, without exciting
the suspicions of the government, prevented the plan from being carried

• .Mr Siiu.l.oiH' III Ml I)...l,'ii,i; ..II, :\I:i,di 13Ui, 1716.

CONFEDERACY TO RESTOHE THE PRETENDKn, 359

i:ito execution.* Sliortly thereafter, Straiton received another letter from
Mar, in which, after stating that there was a design to attempt the restor-
ation of tlie prince by the aid of a certain foreign sovereign, and tliat it
would looli strange if his friends at home did not put tJiemselves in a
condition to assist him, he suggested, tliat as tlie want of money had been
hitherto a great impediment in the way of tlie Clievalier's success, the per-
sons to wiioni this and his Hist letter were to be communicated, shouUl
persuade their friends to have in readiness sucli money as tliey could
procure, to be employed when the proper opjjortunity offered. Mr
Lockhart, who received a letter from the Chevalier at the same time,
undertook the task of acquainting the Chevalier's friends in Scotland
with Mar's wish, and obtained assurances from several persons of
rank that they would attend to the prince's request. Lord Eglinton in
particular made an offer of three thousand guineas, which he signified
by letter to the Chevalier.-t-

The intrigues of Goertz, the Swedish minister, being discovered by
the government, he was arrested and his papers seized at the desire of
King George. This extraordinary proceeding, against which the foreign
ministers resident at the British court remonstrated, roused the indigna-
tion of Charles to the highest pitch of fury, and being now more deter-
mined than ever for carrying his project into effect, he, at the instiga-
tion of Alberoni, reconciled himself to the czar, who, in resentment
of an offer made by King George to Charles to join against Russia, if
the latter would ratify the cession of Bremen and Verden, agreed to
unite his forces with those of Sweden and Spain for placing " the pre-
tender" on the throne of England. To strengthen the interest of the
Chevalier in the north, Alheroni sent the duke of Orniond into Russia
to negotiate a marriage between the son of the Chevalier, and Anne the
daughter of Peter, but this project did not take effect. The Chevalier
himself, in the meantime, contracted a marriage with the Princess Cle-
mentina Sobieski, but she was arrested at Inspruck by order of the im
perial government, when on her journey to meet her betrothed husband,
and sent to a convent.

King George returned to England towards the end of Januarj', seven-
teen hundred and sixteen. The parliament met on the twentieth day of
February, when he informed them of the projected invasion, and mentioned
that he had given orders for laying copies of papers connected therewith
before them. From these documents it appeared, that the plan of inva-
sion was ripe for execution, but that it was not intended to attempt it till
the Dutch auxiliaries should be sent back to Holland. Both houses pre-
sented addresses expressing their horror and indignation at the designs of
those who had encouraged an invasion. Similar addresses were presented
from the convocation, and from the university of Cambridge ; but Ox-
ford was not so pliiiiit. That university had applied for and obtained

' I-Mr!vh;ir'- I*apers, vol ii. p. 7. t IbM. vul. ii. p.

860 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

from the king a dispensation from the cereiuony of burning the devil
the pope, the pretender, tlie dulie of Ormond, and the earl of Mar, in
effigy, on the anniversary of his majesty's accession, for which mark o(
favour some of the Iieads of tlie university thouglit they could not do
less than address the king on the suppression of the late rebellion and
his safe return. But Dr Smalridge, bishop of Bristol, objected to the
address, on the ground that the rebellion had been long suppressed —
that there %vas no precedent for addressing a king upon his return from
his German dominions, and that the favour thfy had received was coun-
terbalanced by quartering a whole regiment upon them ; and the uni-
versity concurred in his views.

In consequence of the conduct of his Swedish majesty, parliament
passed a bill prohibiting all intercourse with Sweden, and a fleet was
despatched to the Baltic under the command of Sir George Byng, to
observe the motions of the Swedes ; but the death of Charles the
Twelfth, who was killed by a cannon ball in the trenches before Fre-
dcrickshal, dissolved the confederacy between Sweden and Russia.

The only remaining power George the First had now to dread was
Spain. In August, seventeen hundred and eighteen. Sir George Byng,
before any declaration of war was issued, captured or destroyed a large
Spanish fleet in the Mediterranean ; but the Spaniards carried on the
war with vigour in Sicily, which they had invaded, and the court of
Madrid sent orders to all the ports of Spain and of the West Indies, to
fit out privateers against the English. The parliament met on the
eleventh of November, on wliich day addresses of congratulation were
moved in both houses on account of Admiral Byng's victory, but a
strong opposition was made to the motion, on the ground that the houses
were called upon to sanction proceedings, which, upon inquiry, might
turn out to be contrary to the law of nations. The addresses were,
however, carried by considerable majorities. War was declared against
Spain in December ; but a respectable minority in parliament, antl the
nation at large, were opposed to it, as hurtful to the commercial inter-
ests of Great Britain. France also followed the same course, and a
French annj' of thirty thousand men, under Marshal Berwick, entered
Spain and laid siege to Fnenterrabia, St Sebastian, and Urgel, which
surrendered in succession. The marshal next laid siege to Roses, but
he was obliged to abandon the enterprize from the badness of the
weather and other causes, and after placing his troops in winter-quar-
ters, returned to Paris.

The war with Spain revived the hopes of the Jacobites, and tlie duke
of Ormond repaired to Madrid, where he held conferences wilh Albe-
roni and concerted an invasion of Great Britain. The Dutch, alarmed
at Ormond's appearance at Madrid, remonstrated with Alberoni, as
they had guaranteed the Protestant succession, which miglit be endan-
gered if an insurrection in favour of the Chevalier de St George was
eri<;ouraged by Spain ; but the cardinal assured them tliat the duke had

INVASION FROM SPAIN. 3GI

no other design in coming into Spain but to consult his personal safetj'.
Meanwhile, under the pretence of sending reinforcements into Sicily,
preparations were made at Cadiz and in the ports of Galicia, for the
projected invasion, and the Chevalier liimself quitted Urbino by steaUli,
and enibarknig at Netteno, landed at Cagliari in iMarch, seventeen hun-
dred and nineteen. From thence he took his passage to Roses in Cat-
alonia, and proceeded to Madrid, where he was cordially received ami
treated as king of Great Britain. On the tenth of March, seventeen
hundred and nineteen, a tleet consisting of ten men-of-war and twenty-
one transports, having on board five thousand men, a great quantity of
ammunition, and thirty thonsand muskets, sailed from Cadiz, with in-
structions to join the rest of the expedition at Corunna, and to make a
descent at once upon England and Ireland. The duke of Ormond was
appointed commander of the fleet, with the title of Captain-general of
his most Catholic Majesty ; and he was provided with declarations in
the name of the king, stating, that for many good reasons he had sent
forces into England and Scotland to act as auxiliaries to King James.

To defeat this attempt the allied cabinets adopted the necessary mea-
sures. His Britannic majesty having communicated to both houses of
parliament the advices he had received respecting the projected inva-
sion, they gave him every assurance of support, and requested him to
augment his forces by sea and land. He ofi'ered a reward of ten thou-
Mud pounds to any one who shoii/d apprehend the duke o*" Ormond.
Troops were ordered to assemble in the north and west of England, and
a strong squadron, under Admiral Norris, was equipped and sent out to
sea to meet the Spanish fleet. The Dutch furnished two thousand men,
and sis battalions of Imperialists were sent from the Austrian Nether-
lands ; and the duke of Orleans ordered ships to be prepared at Brest to
join the English fleet, and made an ofl'er of twenty battalions for the
service of King George.

The expedition under Ormond, with the exception of two frigates,
never reached its destination, having been dispersed and disabled, off
Cape Finisterre, by a violent storm which lasted twelve days. These
two ships reached the coast of Scotland, and had on board the Earls
Marischal and Seaforth, the marquis of TuUibardine, some field officers,
three hundred Spaniards, and arms for two thousand men. This small
force landed in the western Highlands, and was joined by some High-
landers, chiefly Seafoith's men. The other Jacobite clans, with the dis-
appointment they formerly experienced from France still fresh in their
recollection, resolved not to move till the whole forces under Ormond
should arrive. A difference arose between the Earl Marischal and the
manpiis of TuUibardine about the command, but this dispute was put an
end to by the advance of General Wightman from Inverness, with a
body of regular troops. The Highlanders and their allies had taken
possession of the pass at Glenshiel ; but on the approac'' of the govern-
ment forces, they retired to tlie pass at Stracheli, whiea they resolved

iJCa HISTORV OF THE H1<JHLANI>S.

to defend. General M"iglitman attacked and drove them, after a smart
action and after sustaining some loss, from one eminence to anotiier,
when night put an end to tlie combat. The Highlanders seeing no
chance of malving a successful resistance, dispersed, during the niglit,
among the mountains, and the Spaniards, on tlie foliuwing day, sur
rendered themselves prisoners of war. Marischal, Seaforth, and Tul-
libardine, with the other officers, retired to the western isles, and there-
after escaped to the contii.eiit.

CHAPTER XVI.

I'ruiltiit cunductof llie Jacobites in the south of Scotland— The Pretender appoints 'I'rua
li-cs for managing his otfairs in Scotland — Letter from liim on the suhject— Discovery
of a new Jiicobite conspiracy — Arrests — Preparations of the Government— Commiltal
of Atterbury, Bishop of Kocliester, on a charge of high treason— Meeting of a new
Pailiamint— Habeas-corpus act suspended— Declaration of the Chevalier de St George
—Severe proceedings against the Catholics — Trial and Execution of Layer — Trial and
Uanishment of Atterbury — Return of Lord Bolingbroke to Kngland— Causes thereof
—Act for preserving the pence of the Highlands— Meeting of some Highland Chiefs
at Paris — Resolution adopted by llieni — Preparations of General Wade to disarm the
Highlanders — Camp formed at Inverness— The Mackenzies and others submit — Pro-
posed alliance between the Jacobites and tlie Cameronians — Disgrace of the Earl of
Jlar — Its consequences— Atterbury's charges against Mar, who justifies himself— The
Consort of the Chevalier retires to a Convent— Cause of the separation— Death of
George I. — Arrival of the Chevalier in Lorraine — His reasons for tliis step — Returns
to Italv.

Although the Chevalier still had many adherents iu the south of Scot-
land, yet, as they were narrowly watched by the government, it was
considered inexpedient and unsafe to correspond with theni on the sub-
ject of the Spanish expedition. In the state of uncertainty in which
they were thus kept, they wisely abstained from committing themselves,
and when Warischal landed they were quite unprepared to render him
any assistance, and unanimously resolved not to move in any shape
till a rising should take place in England in favour of the Clievalier.
But this prudent resolution was well nigh marred by the following
singular incident : — About the time the Spanish fleet was expected
to have arrived upon the coast, an unknown person, who represented
himself as a servant ofCameron ofLochiel, waited upon one Mills, tutor
to young Glengary, at Edinburgh, and informed him that he had come
from Spain, and had just been landed on the coast of Galloway from the
duke of Ormond's fleet as it had passed by, and that he had been commis-
sioned to go north and acquaint his master's friends to hold themselves in
readiness to take up arms. Mills carried this person to one Captain
Straiton, a zealous Jacobite, who gave full credit to the statement, in which
he was afterwards confirmed by a letter sent to him by express by the vis-
count of Stormont, then at his house in Annandale, informing him that five
or six days before the date of his letter, a large squadron of tall ships,
which he had no doubt was Ormond's fleet, had passed along the Galloway
coast, sailing with a fair wind directly for the west coast of England. On
receiving the viscount's letter, Straiton sent oft' an express to Lord
Nairne in Perthshire, informing him that the duke of Ormond was on
the coast, and had certainly landed by that time, and requestini^ his

3C4 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

lordship to forward the glad intelligence to Lord Marischal and othpr
proper persons in tlie Highlands, that no time might be lost in summon-
ing the Highlanders to the field. The news having been also commu-
nicated by Straiton to some persons in and about Edinburgh, the earl
of Dalhousie and some other gentlemen of the county got on horseback
with the intention of joining Ormond, as they saw no possibility of
reaching Mai'ischal ; but Lockhart of Carnwath, who doubted the in-
telligence, prevailed on Dalhousie to remain at Selkirk, under the pre-
tence of attending the races, till he should inquire into its truth. The
result was, that the whole affair turned out to be a pure fabrication,
evidently got up bj' the emissaries of the government to entrap the Ja-
cobite chiefs. Bj this timely interference on the part of Lockhart,
many families were saved from ruin, as he immediately apprized those
who were ready to rise, of the deception which had been practised.*

As many inconveniencies had arisen from a want of co-operation
among tlie friends of the Chevalier in the south of Scotland, Mr Lock-
hart, in concert with the bishop of Edinburgh, proposed to James that
tlie earls of Eglinton and Wigton, Lord Balmerino, the bishop of Edin-
burgh, (the head of the nonjuring clergy,) Mr Paterson of Prestouhali,
and Captain Straiton, should be appointed commissioners or trustees for
transacting his affairs in Scotland. This proposal was well received by
the Chevalier, who sent the following letter to Lockhart on the occasion: —

" Ffhrunry \5l/i, 1720.
" I saw a few days agoe a paper you sent hither for my perusal, in
which I remarked with pleasure that same good sense and affection for
me I alwajs found in you, and of which I am truely sensible. I am
entirely convinced of the advantage it would be to my affairs, that some
persons of weight and prudence should frequently confer togither, and
communicate to me their opinion and reflections on matters, and at tlie
same time, on proper occasions, give such advice to the rest of my friends
as might conduce to our common good. To appoint a certain number
of persons for this effect by commission, is by no means, at this time,
adviseable, because of the inconveniencies it might draw, sooner or
later, upon the persons concern'd ; since it could not but be expected
that the present government would, at long run, be inform'd of such a
paper which, by its nature, must be known to a great number of peo-
ple; besides, that many wlio might be most fitt to discharge such a trust
might, with reason, not be fond of having their names exposed in sucli
a matter ; while, on the other hand, numbers might be disobliged for
not having a share where it is not possible all can be concern'd ; but I
think all these inconveniences may be obviated, the intent of the pro-
posal comply 'd with, and equall advantages drawn from it if the persons
named below, or some of them, would meet and consult together lor

• J<oilih:iil Papers, Tol. li. p. 22, 23.

NEW .rACOBIXE CONSPIKACY DISCOVERED.

Sfifl

the intents above-mention'd. The persons you propose I entirely ap-
prove, to witt, tlie earls of Eglington and Wigtoti, Lord Balinorino, tiie
bishop of Edinburgli, Mr Paterson and Captain Straiton, to wlioni I
nould liave added Mr Harry Maul, Sir John Eiskine, Lord Dun,
Poiiric and Glcngary. Now, as these gentlemen want, I know, no spur
to their zeal for nij' service, and that out of regard to tlitm I am un-
willing to write directly at present to them, I am persuaded that wlien
this letter is communicated to tlieni, they will willingly enter into wiiat
is proposed for our mutuall advantage ; and to make tlie thing easier to
vou, I send a duplicate of this to Straiton, that either by him or you it
may be communicated to the persons concern'd, with all that is kind to
them in my name ; and if any of them are desireous upon occasion to
consult others not named in this letter, I shall entirely approve it; but
what I desire may be tlie first point settled, is that of a regular corres-
pondence with me; !or which end, if Straiton is not sufficient, I shall
approve of any person my friends shall appoint for that effect, as I have
already that one Mr Coopar should be assisting to Straiton on occa-
sions," * &c.

Shortly after the receipt of the preceding letter, Mr Lockliart ac-
quainted tlie different persons, therein named, of its contents, and all of
tliem undertook to execute the trust reposed in them; but as they judged
It advisable to conceal tlie powers they liad received from their friends,
they requested Mr Lockhart, when their advice was wanted, to comnui-
nicate with them individually, and having collected their sentiments to
give the necessary instructions with due caution. From his name not
having been put down in the Chevalier's list, Mr Lockhart at first de-
clined to act as a trustee; but on being informed that his name had been
omitted by mistake, and that it was the Chevalier's intention that he
should be one of the number, he undertook the oifice. f No matter,
however, of any importance seems ever to have been brought under
the consideration of these trustees.

In June seventeen hundred and twenty-one, a treaty of peace was
signed at Madrid between Great Britain and Spain, and at same time
a defensive alliance was entered into between Great Britain, France, and
Spain. As the two last were the onlj' powers from whom the " Pre-
tender" could expect any effectual aid in support of his pretensions, his
long-wished-for restoration seemed now to be hopeless, and King George
secure, as he imagined, fi'om foreign invasion and domestic plots, made
preparations for visiting his German dominions, and actually appointed
a regency to act in his absence. But early in the year seventeen hun-
dred and twenty-two, a discovery was made, on information received by
the King from the regent of France, that the Jacobites were busy in a
new conspiracy against the government. It appeared that the Cheva-
lier do St George, who was at Rome, was to sail from Porto-Longone

Lt.iklujrt Tapers, vol. ii. p. 2D.

t Ibid. vol. 11. p. 34.

oGb HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

for Spain, under the protection of three Spanish men of-war, and there
to wait the rebolutions of his friends * In following the clue given b)'
the duke of Orleans, it was ascertained that all the letters, in relation
to the conspiracy, were carried to Mr George Ki'lly, an Irish clergy-
man, who despatched them to their different destinations. The insurrec-
tion was to have taken place during the king's absence in Hanover ; but
his majesty having deferred his journey in consequence of the discovery
of the plot, the conspirators resolved to postpone their attempt till the
dissolution of narliament

The conspirators finding thev were watched by government became
extremely cautious, and the ministers, desirous of getting hold of the
treasonable correspondence, ordered Kellv. the principal agent, to be
arrested. He was accordingly apprehended, but not until he had, by
keeping his assailants at bay with his sword, succeeded in bui-ning the
greater part of his papers. Although the papers which were seized from
Kelly, and others v.hich had been intercepted by government, bore evi-
dent marks of a conspiracy, yet it became very difficult, from the fictitious
names used in them, to trace out the guilty persons. " We are in trace
of several tilings verj- material," observes Robert Walpole in a letter to
his brother, in reference to this discovery, " but we fox-hunters know
that we do not always find every fox that we cross upon." Among other
persons who were arrested on suspicion, were the duke of Norfolk, lords
North and Grej', Strafford, and Orrery, Atterbury, bishop of Rochester,
and Sir Harry Goring.

To check the threatened insurrection, a earap was immediately formed
m Hyde-park, and all military officers were ordered to repair to theii
respective regiments. Lieutenant-general Macartney was despatched to
Ireland to bring over some troops from that kingdom, and the states of
Holland were requested to have their auxiliary troops in readiness for
embarkation. These preparations, and the many rumours which pre-
vailed respecting the extent of the conspiracy, afiected public credit, and
a run took place upon the bank, but the panic soon subsided, and pub-
lic confidence was restored.

Of all the persons seized of any note, the bishop of Rochester was the
only individual against whom a charge could plausibly be maintained.
He was equally tr>ted for his high literary attainments and a warm at-
tachnient to the exploded dogma of passive obedience. He had written
Sacheverel's defence con amore, and he had carried his partizanship for
the house of Stuart so far, that, according to Lord Harcourt, he offered,
upon the death of Queen Anne, to proclaim the Clievalier de St George
at Charing-cross in his lawn sleeves, and when his proposal was declined,
he is said to have exclaimed, " Never was a better cause lost for want or
spirit." He was identified as one of the conspirators by a trifling circum-
stance. A dog mentioned in some of the letters as a present to a person

• iloberi Walpolt! lu h\, hrollier Horace, May 1722. Coxa.

COMMITTAL OF ATTKRHUKV, BISIIOH OF ROCHIisTKR. 3G7

sometimes named Jones and sometimes Illington, was sent frora France.
A Mrs Barnes, wlio was privy to tlie conspiracy, nowise suspecting tliat
sucli an insignificant circumstance would lead to detection, freely stated
that the dog mentioned in the letters was intended for the bishop of Ro-
chester. This admission led to a closer examination of the letters,
anil the result was, that not only the mention of Jones and Illington was
found always to agree with this intiormation, but the bishop's illness, the
death uf his wife, his visits to and departures frora London, were all men-
tiuneil with the right dates under these feigned names.*

After an examination before the privy-council, the bishop was com-
mitted to the Tower on a charge of high treason. After he had been a
fortnight in confinement, Mrs Morris, the prelate's daughter, presented
a petition to the court at the Old Bailey, praying that, in consideration
of her father's bad state of health, he might be either brought to a speedy
trial, admitted to bail, or discharged, but the petition was rejected. The
committal of the bishop was highly resented by the clerg3', who con-
sidered it as an outrage upon the church of England and the episcopal
order, and they gave full vent to their feelings by ofi'ering up public
prayers for his health in all the churches and chapels of London and
Westminster.

The now parliament met in the month of October, and tlie first thing
the king did was to announce, by a speech from the throne, the nature
of the conspiracy. lie observed that the conspirators had endeavoured
to obtain the aid of foreign powers, but that they had been disappointed
in their expectations, — that, confiding in their numbers, they had, not-
withstanding, resolved once more to attempt to subvert the government;
to accomplish which end, they had obtained large sums of money, en-
gaged great numbers of foreign officers, and secured large quantities of
arms and ammunition, — and that had not the plot been timeously disco-
vered, the whole nation, and particularly the city of London, would have
been involved in blood and confusion. He dwelt upon the mildness and
uprightness of liis government, and inveighed against the folly of the dis-
affected ; and he concluded with an assurance that he would steadily
adhere to the constitution in church and state, and continue to make the
laws the rule and measure of all his actions. This speech was answered
by corresponding addresses from both houses. A bill for suspending the
habeas corpus act for a whole year was immediately brought into the
house of lords, but as the period of suspension was double of any
suspension hitherto known, it met with some opposition. In the com-
mons, howfcVLi, the opposition was so violent, that Mr Robert Walpole
found himself necessitated to invent a story of a design to seize the bank
and the exchequer, and to proclaim the "pretender" on the royal ex-
change. This ridiculous tale, uttered with the greatest confidence,
alarmed the commons, and they passed the bill.

• Meuioiis of Uic Aliaii» .1 Eu.t|.i.-. I1> Loid Jolai KusseU, vul. ii. p. 3S7.

36H HISTORY OF THE HIG>ILAND.S.

In connexion witli this conspiracy, tlie Ciicvalier de St George issued
a declaration, dated at Lucca, ou tlie twentieth of September same year,
addressed to the people of Great Britain and Ireland, as well as to all
foreign princes and states. In this paper, alter mentioning the violation
of freedom in the late eltetioiis, pretended conspiracies to serve as a pre-
text for new oppressions, infamous informers, and the state of j)roscrij)-
tion under wliich he alleged every honest British subject lay, he maile
this extraordinary proposal, that if King George would relinquish to him
the throne of Great Britain, he would in return bestow upon him the
title of king in his native dominions, and invite all other states to cou-
lirm it. He promised to leave to King George his succession to the
British dominions sccui-e, whenever it should open to him in the natural
course. On the sixteenth of November the king sent to the house of
peers the original and a printed copy of this declaration, signed by the
"pretender," for their consideration. The lords unanimously resolved that
it was a false, insolent, and traitorous libel, and ordered it to be burned
at the Royal-exchange ; and the commons concurred in this resolution.
An address was also agreed to by both houses, in which they expressed
their utmost astonishment and indignation at the insolence of the " pre-
tender," and assuring bis majesty of their determination to support his
title to the crown with their lives and fortunes. As the catholics were
supposed to be chiefly concerned in the conspiracy, a bill was introduced
into the house of commons lor raising one hundred thousand pounda
upon the real and personal estates of all " papists," or persons educated iu
the catholic religion, towards defraying the expenses incurred by the late
rebellion and disorders. This bill being justly regarded as a species of
persecution, was warmly ojjposed by some members, but it was sent up
to the house of lords along with another bill, obliging all persons, being
" papists," in Scotland, and all persons in Great Britain refusing or ne-
glecting to take the oaths appointed for the king's person and govern-
uient, to register their names and real estates. As might have been
;inticipated, both bills were passed without amendments and received the
ioyal assent.

Christopher Layer and the bishop of Rochester were the only pri-
soners who were brought to trial. Layer was arraigned on the twent}--
(irst day of November, and being convicted of having enlisted men
for the pixtender's service, received sentence of death. With a view
to discoveiy, he was leprieved for some time, and examined by a
committee of the house of commons, but being ur.willing or unable
to discover the particulars of the conspiracy, he was executed at
Tyburn, and his head was fixed "p at Temple- bar. Mr Pulteney,
chairman of the committee, reported to the house, that from the
examination of Layer and others, it ajipcared that a design had been
formed by persons of figure and distinction at home, in conjunction w ith
traitOJ-s abroad, for placing the " pretender" on the throne of these realms :
that their first object was to obtain a body of foreign troops to invade

TRIAL OF ATTERBUKY KETUKN OF LOHD BliLl NOBROKE. 3(i9

tlie kingdom at the time of the late elections, but that being disappointed
ill this expectation, the conspirators had resolved to make an attempt at
the time it was generally believed the king intended to go to Hanover,
b3- the help of such officers and soldiers as could pass into England un-
observed from abroad, under the command of the duke of Orraond, who
was to have landed in the river with a great quantitj' of arms provided
in Spain for tliat purpose, at which time the Tower was to have been
seized : that this scheme being also defeated by the vigilance of the go-
vernment, the conspirators deferred their enterprise till the breaking up
of the camp, and in tlie meantime employed their agents to corrupt an(i
seduce the army : that It appeared from several letters and circumstances,
that the duke of Ormond, the duke of Norfolk, the earl of Orrery, Lord
North and Grey, and the bishop of Ilocliester were concerned in this
conspiracy : that their acting agents were Christopher Layer and John
Plunket, who travelled together to Rome; Dennis Kelly, George
Kelly, and Thomas Carte, nonjuring clergymen, Neynne the Irish
priest, who had been drowned in the river Thames in attempting to
make his escape from the messenger's house, Mrs Spilman, alias Yallop
and John Sample.

On receiving this report the house of commons passed a resolution
declaring that a detestable and horrid conspiracy had existed for raising
a rebellion, seizing the Tower and the city of London, laying violent hands
upon the sacred persons of his Majesty and the ])rince of Wales in order
to subvert the constitution in church and state, by placing a popish pre-
tender upon the tlirone ; and that it was formed and carried on by persons
of figure and distinction, and tlieir agents and instruments in conjunction
with traitors abroad. The duke of Norfolk, who was sent to the Tower,
was not brought to trial. John Plunket and George Kelly were imprisoned
during his Majesty's pleasure by virtue of bills of pains and penalties,
which were passed through parliament. A bill of a similar nature de-
priving Atterbury of his bishopric, and banishing him for life without a
power in the crown to pardon, was immediately introduced into the
house of commons, though Sir W'illiam Wyndham maintained that there
was no evidence against him but conjectures and hearsay's. The bishop
wrote a letter to the speaker, intimating, that though conscious of his in-
nocence, he should decline giving the house any trouble, contenting him-
self with the opportunity of making his defence before the house of which
he had the honour to be a member. The bill was committed on the
sixth day of April, when a majority of the tory members left the house.
The bill was thereafter passed, only two members having spoken against it.

The bill being carried to the upper house, the bishop was brought up
for trial on the ninth of May. The evidence against him consisted
entirely of correspondence, not one particle of which was in !iis own
handwriting. The post-otfice clerks had copied and forwarded some
letters on the twentieth of April., and on the twentieth of August they
had stopped another letter as a sample, which they swore to be in the same

11. 3 a

370 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

handwriting as the letters they had copied before. Evidence of an im-
perfect kind was then brought to show that the sample retained was
written by Kelly ; and it was conjectured rather than proved, that Kelly
had written these letters by the dictation of the bishop. The letters
being written in cypher, decj'pherers were examined to interpret the
cypher ; but they differed in their explanation of some of the cyphers.
The most important point, however, still remained to be proved — the
treasonable nature of the correspondence ; but although allusion was
made to designs entertained and postponed, there was nothing in the let-
,ters to show what these designs were. One of these letters being direct-
ed to Jackson, it was maintained, from some doubtful circumstances,
that Jackson meant the pretender. " Therefore as it was high treason
to correspond with the pretender, a letter to Jackson inferred to be
written by Kelly, from a resemblance carried in the memory of the post-
office clerks during four months, supposed from minute circumstances
to be dictated by Atterbury, and believed to be rightly interpreted by
the skill of the government decypherers, was argued to be sufficient
ground to deprive the bibhop of Rochester of his station, propertj', and
country."* Such was the conclusion to which the house of lords came
after an able speech by the bit.hop's counsel against the bill, another by the
bishop himself, and a third by Earl Cowper in his favour. The bill
accordingly passed the lords and received the royal assent. The evi-
dence brought against the bishop was, as a modern writer f has justly
observed, of a kind hitherto unknown to an English judicature; and we
cannot avoid adopting the remark of tlie same author, tliat it is mortify-
ing to be obliged to record such a proceeding during the reign of the
first sovereign of the house of Hanover. Atterbury was soon sent out
of the kingdom under the pain of death in case he should ever again
return. It is said that when crossing over to Calais he met Lord
Bolingbroke, then on his way to England, whom he thus addressed w itli
a smile, " My lord, you and I are exchanged I"

The return of this extraordinary person to England gave rise to much
speculation, and many conjiotures were hazarded as to the reasons
which had induced Walpole to promote the return of a man whose im-
pt achnient he had himself moved ; but the mystery has been cleared up
by papers which have since met the public eye. From these it appears
that several years before his appearance in England, Bolingbroke had
completely broken with the Stuarts in consequence of his deprivation
of the seals. It seems that the earl of Mar and the duke had a violent
difiertnce with regard to the conduct of the expedition in seventeen
hundred and fifteen ; and Mar, to revenge himself upon his rival, prevail-
ed upon the duke of Ormond to report in presence of the Chevalier de St
George certain abusive expressions w hich Bolingbroke, when in a state of
intoxication, had uttered in disparageme nt of his uiasti r. The Chevalier,

• Memoirs of Ihe Ainiirs of Kiiiope. v.. I ii. p. 3S9. f ll.iil. p 3-«.

BILL TO SECnRE THE PEACE OF THE illOHLAJJDS. 371

highly exasperated at liolingbroke, sent for the seals, at which his lora-
sliip was so incensed tliat when the queen mother attempted to recon-
cile them, Bolingbroke said that he wished his arm miglit rot off if ever
he drew his sword or employed his pen in the service of the Stuarts.
lie, thereupon, proffered his services to King George, and offered
to do any thing but betray the secrets of his friends. This offer was
followed by tlie celebrated letter to Sir William Wyndham, in which !i*
dissuailcd the tories from placing any reliance on tlie pretender, and ex-
posed tlio exiled family to ridicule and contempt ; but his overtures
were rejected by tlie government, and when an act of indemnity was hint-*
ed at, Walpole expressed in the strongest terms his indignation at the very
idea of such a measure. Bolingbroke, however, persevered ; and Wal-
pole having been softened by the entreaties of the dutchess of Kendal,
one of the mistresses of the king, to whom Bolingbroke made a present
of eleven thousand pounds, he procured a pardon. In April, seventeen
hundred and twenty-five, a bill was brought into the house of lords for
restoring to Bolingbroke his family estate, which, after some opposition,
passed both houses.

To secure the peace of the Highlands, a bill was brought into the house
of commons, in the spring of seventeen hundred and twenty-five, by
the celebrated Duncan Forbes, of CuUoden, afterwards lord-president of
the court of session, for disarming the Highlanders. In this bill there
were several clauses which would have been highly injurious to the
Highlanders; but, in consequence of the opposition of some of the Eng-
lish members, these were dropped, as was also a clause which prohibited
the wearing of the Highland garb. In reference to this bill, Mr Lock-
hart makes the following striking observations. " The English ministry
having no hopes of ever bringing the Highlanders over to their measures,
looked upon them as a considerable body of brave fellows, inured to
arms, that would probably join any enemy, foreign or domestic, that
should happen to aim at subverting the present settlement of the govern-
ment, and therefore resolved either to extirpate them, or at least by dis-
arming them, bring them in time to forget the use of arms, and to be of
a less warlike disposition, and with such views pushed this bill, and con-
certed the measures that followed upon it. But whatever considera-
tions moved the English, it was odd that the duke of Argyle should
enter into such projects ; the many powers, privileges, jurisdictions, and
enlargement of lands, (such as no other family enjoyed,) were bestowed
by the crown as rewards, or more effectually to enable his predecessors
to curb the power of the Highland clans, who, under the direction of
their chieftains in old times, committed great devastations in the low
countries, and even entered into leagues with the kings of England
against their native prince ; and he, as well as all other men, could not
but see that if this formidable power of the Highlanders was removed, he
was of less consequence to the government, as there was less use for his
service : and though King George by this act was impowered to ex(,uj|it

r

372 HISTORY OF THE niGIILAMDS.

such as he pleased, from being comprehended under it, and that conse-
ijuently his grace was in no hazard of having his people disarmed, jet
what was now done to others, would stand as a precedent for using him
and his in the same manner, as it was an English measure, or might be
retaliated on him upon an alteration of the ministry, when it miglit be
proper to gratify those that coped with liim and his family, and grudged
that he and his followers should be in a better state than others. But
the truth on't i», this duke hath in all matters acted as if he only consi-
dered the present time, and had no regard or concern for futurity.'*

By an act passed in the first year of George I., " Lt the more effectual
securing the peace of the Highlands in Scotland," it was rendered un-
lawful for any person or persons, (except the persons therein mentioned
and described, viz. peers of the realm, sons of peers, members of par-
liament, and others authorized by liis majesty,) within the shires of
Dumbarton, on the north side of the water of Leven, Stirling, on the
north side of the river of Forth, Perth, Kincardine, Aberdeen, Inver-
ness, Nairne, Cromarty, Argyle, Forfar, Banlf, Sutherland, Caithness,
Elgin, and Ross, to have in custody, or to use or bear broad-sword or
target, poniard, whingar, or durk, side-pistol or side-pistols, or gun, or
any other warlike weapon in the fields, or in tlie way coming or going
to, from or at any church, market, fair, burials, huntings, meetings, or
any occasion whatsoever within the said bounds, or to come into the
low countries armed, as aforesaid.

After a recital of these provisions, it was enacted by tlie law, now
passed, \mo, that from time to time tlie lord-lieutenant of every one of
the said shires, or any other person or persons, to be appointed by iiis
majesty, his heirs, or successors, for that effect, should cause letters or sum-
mons to be issued in his majesty's name, under their respective hands
and seals, directed to such of the clans and persons within the said
several shires and bounds as they should think fit, commanding and re-
quiring all and every person belonging to such clan or clans, and all
and every such other persons therein named, living witliin the particular
limits therein described, on a certain day, in such summons to be named,
to bring to and deliver up at a certain place in such summons also to be
mentioned, their arms and warlike weapons, to such lord-lieutenants,
or other persons, authorized to receive the same; and if, on the expira-
tion of the day appointed for delivery, any persons belonging to the
clan or clans, or any other persons named in the summons, should be
convicted on evidence of having or bearing any arms or warlike weap-
ons, after tlie day mentioned in the summons, the said persons so con-
victed were to be fortliwith committed to safe custody, to be tlitre kept
and detained without bail, until delivered over to such officer or officers
belonging to tiie forces of his majesty as should be ajipoiiitcd from time
to time, to receive such men witliin every such sliire or place respeet-

• Lofkhart paporF, vol, ii. p. Ion.

MEETING OF HIC.IILAND CHIEFS AT PA HIS. .'573

ivelv to serve as soldiers in any part of his majesty's dominions beyond
tlie seas. 2fh, To prevent arms from being concealed, it was next en-
acted, that if, after the days appointed for delivery, any arms or war-
like weapons should be found concealed in any dwelling-house, or in any
house or office of whatever description within the limits summoned to
deliver up, the tenant or possessor should be deemed the bearer of such
concealed arms, and, upon being convicted, should suffer the penalty
before mentioned, unless such tenant or possessor sliould produce suffi-
eiiiit evidence that such arms were so concealed without his connivance
or knowledge. 3lio, To prevent questions touching the legality of the
notice, it was declared that the summons, notwithstanding its general-
ity, should be deemed sufficient if it expressed the clan or clans, that
were commanded to deliver up their arms, or the lands and limits, the
inhabitants of which were to be disarmed, and that it should be a suffi-
cient and legal notice to affix the summons on the door of the parish
cimrch or churches of the several parishes within which the lands, the
iiiliabilants whereof were to be disarmed, lay, on any Sunday betwixt
the hours often in the forenoon, and two in the afternoon,^four days
at least before the day fixed for delivering up the arms; and on the mar-
ket-cross of the head-burgh of the shire or stewartry, eight days be-
fore the day so appointed. 4lo, The lord-lieutenant of the said shires,
or the person or persons authorized as aforesaid, or any two or more
justices of the peace were authorized to enter into any house within the
limits aforesaid, either by day or by night, and to search for and seize
arms and warlike weapons. These provisions were unquestionably very
severe; but the circumstances of the times rendered them absolutely
necessary.

Upon the passing of the disarming act, some of the Highland chiefs
held a meeting at Paris, at which they resolved to apply to the Cheva-
lier de St George, to know whether, in his opinion, they should submit
to the new law. James returned an answer under cover to Bishop
Atterbury, in which he advised the chiefs rather to submit than rua
the risk of ruining their followers ; but the bishop thought proper to
keep up the letter, and having sent off an express to Rome, James was
induced to write another letter altogether different from the first, re-
quiring them to resist, by force, the intended attempt of the govern-
ment to disarm the Highlanders. Meanwhile, the chiefs were apprized
of James's original sentiments bj* a correspondent at Rome, and of the
k-tter which had been sent to Atterbury's care. Unaware of this cir-
cumstance, the bishop, on receipt of the second letter, convened ihe
chiefs, and communicated to them its contents; but these being so
completely at variance with the information of their correspondent, they
insisted upon seeing the first letter, but Atterbury refused in the most
positive terms to exhibit it, and insisted upon compliance with the in-
junctions contained in the second letter. They, thereupon, desired to
know what support they were to receive in men, money, and arms ; but

374 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

the bishop told them, that unless they resolved to go to Scotland ant
take up arms, he would give thcra no further information than tliis, that
they would be assisted by a certain foreign power, wliose name he was
not at liberty to mention.* The chiefs, dissatisfied witli the conduct of
tlie bijhop, refused to pledge themselves as required, and retired.

After the passing of this act, General Wade, who Iiad made a survey
of the Highlands during the summer of seventeen hundred and twenly-
four, was made commander-in-chief in Scotland, with powers to build
forts wherever he pleased. In addition to the forces already in Scotland,
troops were sent down from England, and several frigates were appoint
ed to stations on the coast of Scotland, there to wait the general's orders
It was Wade's intention to form a camp at Inverness, preparatory to the
disarming of the Highlanders, but he was stopped for a time on his jour-
ney north to quell a serious disturbance which had broken out at Glas-
gow, in consequence of the imposition of the malt-tax.

The great preparations made to carry the disarming act into effect,
indicated a dread, on the part of the government, that the Highlanders
would not deliver up their arms without a struggle. The Chevalier de
St George, deceived as it would appear by the representations of Atter-
bur3', resolved to support the Highlanders, to the effect at least of en-
abling them to obtain favourable terms from the government. " I find,"
says James, in a letter f to Mr Lockliart, " they (the Highlanders) are
of opinion that nothing less than utter ruin is designed fur tlie..i, and
those on this side are persuaded that the English government will meet
with the greatest difficulties in executing their projects, and that the
clans will unanimouslie agree to oppose them to the last, and if thereby
circumstances will allow them to do nothing for my service, that they
will still, by a capitulation, be able to procure better terms to them-
selves than they can propose by leaving themselves at the govern-
ment's mercy, and delivering up their arms : and, if so, I am resolved,
and I think I owe it to them, to do all in my power to support them, and
the distance I am at has obliged me to give my orders accordingly ; and
nothing in my power shall be wanting to enable them to keep their
ground against the government, at least till they can procure good
terms for themselves, tho, at the same time, I must inform you that
the opposition they propose to make may prove of the greatest advan-
tage to my interest, considering the hopes I have of foreign assistance,
which, perhaps, j'ou may hear of even before you receive this letter. I
should not have ventured to call the Highlanders togethei-, without a
certainty of their being supported, but the great probability there is of
it makes me not at all sorry they should take the resolution ofdcfenditig
themselves, and not delivering up their arms, which woud have ren-
dered them, in a great measure, useless to their countrie ; and as the

• Abstract uf a lettei- from one of llio Higlilniid chiefs at Paris to .Mr J,.liii .Marlv„a,
ailvncate, dated the end of June, 1725. Loikliart Papers, v.,1. ii. p. 1 2 3.

* Dated 23d June, 1725. Lockliart Papers, *oI. ii. p. 169.

CONSULTATION ON THE DISARMING ACT. 375

designs of the government aie represented to me, the laying doun ol
liieir arms is only to be the forerunner of other methods, that arc to be
(alien to extirpate their race for ever.* They arc certainly in tlie right
to make the government buj' tlieir slavery at as dear a rate as they can.
The distance I am at (Ilonie,) and the im|)erfect accounts 1 have had
of this law, (tor disarming the Highlanders,) have been very unlucky:
however, the orders 1 have sent to France I hope will not come too
late, and I can answer for the diligence in the execution of them, which
is all I can say to you at present from hence."

A few days after the receipt of this letter, .Mr Loekliart went to
Edinburgh, where he found the duke of Hamilton and the earl of
Kincardine, two of James's " trustees," to whom he showed the letter,
and requested their opinion as to the proposed attempt to resist the
contemplated measures of the government. These noblrmen consid-
ered that the attempt would be ra>h as well as fatal, — that the idea
of obtaining better terms bj' a temporary resistance, was vain, unless
the Highlanders succeeded in defeating the government; but that if
they failed, the utter extirpation of their race would certainly follow;
--that the Highlanders being a bodj- of men of such high value, as well
in relation to the interests of the exiled family, as to those of the
kingdom, it was by no means reasonable to hazard them upon an un-
certainty, for though they sliould give up thtir arms, it would be ea<ii'r
to provide them afterwards w ith others, w hen their services w ere required,
than to repair the loss of their persons ; — that with regard to foreign
assistance, as such undertakings were liable to many accidents, and as
'.he best formed designs often turned out abortive, it was by no means
advisable to hazard the Highlanders, who were hated by the govein-
nient, upon the expectancy of such aid; and that if such foreign powers
as could, and were willing to assist, would inquire into the tiue state of
atfairs in Scotland, they would find that wherever a feasible atteni])l
should be made by them to restore the exiled family, the Scots would
be ready to declare themselves.

This opinion was communicateil by Mr Lockhart to James,f and he
informed him at same time that a person of distinction, who had been
sent by the Highland Jacobite chiefs to obtain intelligence and advice,
had arrived in Edinburgh incognito, and had informed Kincardine,

• This serious charge was probably not altogitiier \^iihout fo; ndaUon. The extri-iiip
SLVeriiies of tiie goverunicul certainly tended to such a result. In reference to the>e,
Uuncan Forbes, afterwards lord-president, in an anonymous letter to Sir Robert \\ ul-
pole, sa_\s, ** If all the rebels, with their wives, children, and immediate dependants,
could be at once rooted out of the earth, the shock would be astonishing; but time woukd
Commit it to oblivion, and the danger would Iip less to the constitution than when thous-
ands of innocents, punished with misery and \%ant for the offences of their fiiends, are
sutiered to wandei about the country, sighing out their complaints to Heaven, and draw.
nig at once the compassion, and moving the indignation of every huntan creature.**
Cullodeu Papers, p. Ii2.

+ I.eller from Mr l.orkliarl to ihe Chevalier, 85ih Jid,, 1723. I.. (l>i.;,rt H^.i„-,s. v„|
ii. ... ISO.

376 HISTOIIY OF Tilt lIUiHLAMJJ..

who had waited upon him, that the Higlilaiiders had resolved to make
a show of submission, by giving up part of their arms under the pre-
tence of delivering up the whole, while their intention was to retain and
conceal the best and greater part of them. Kincardine, without giving an^'
opinion on the subject, reconrmended to the gentleman in question, as
foreign assistance might be speedily expected, the expediency of piittiiiL'
off the delivery as long as possible, and that as four or five weeks woul
be consumed before the forms, required by the act, could be complied
with, they should retain their arms till the ex])iration of that period.
This profiosal was highly relished by the deputy, who departed early
the following morning for the Highlands to communicate tlie plan to his
friends and constituents.

The advice given by Hamilton and Eglinton coincided with the view
which James, upon being made acquainted m itli the resolution of the chief
at Paris, had adopted; and in a Ittter written to Mr Lockhart by Colon:'
Hay, whom he had appointed his secretary of state, and raised to the
peerage under the title of earl of Inverness, he signified his approbation
of the advice given by his friends, which he said was entirely agreeable
to his own sentiments from the beginning. He stated, moreover, that
the orders he had given to assist the Highlanders were only conditional,
and in the event only that thej' themselves should have resolved to op-
pose the government, and that if the bishop of Rochester had pressed
any of the chiefs at Paris to go to arms, it was more with a view to
discover a correspondence which he suspected one of them had carried
on independent of the others, than with any real design to induce them
to order their followers to make opposition, as that was to have depended
as much upon the chiefs at home as upon those abroad.*

When James ascertained that the Highlanders were resolved to sub-
mit, he withdrew the orders he had given for assisting them, and de-
spatched a trusty messenger to the Highlands to acquaint them of his
readiness to support them when a proper occasion oflercd, and to collect
inlbrmation as to the state of the country. Allan Cameron, the messen-
ger in question, arrived in the Highlands in August, and visited the
heads of the clans in the interest of James, to whom he delivered the
message with which he had been intrusted. It is said that General
Wade was aware of his arrival, but it does not appear that any measures
were taken to apprehend him. After four months' residence in tlie
Highlands, Cameron ventured on a journey to Edinburgh, where, in the
beginning of the year seventeen hundred and twenty-six, he held frequent
conferences with the duke of Hamilton, the earl of Kincardine, and
Lockhart of Carnwath, on the subject of his mission and the state n
afi'airs, but nothing of importance was resolved upon at these meetings,
and Cameron departed for the continent early in February.

After the suppression of the riots in the west of Scotland, General

• I.imIJi.mI I'iipers vi.l. ii. |i. 2)S.

.: I

SUBMISSION OP THE CI.ANS UNDER THE DISARMING ACT. 377

Waiio proceeded to Inverness, where a camp had been formed, to carry
I lie ilisarmnig act into execution. At Inverness Wade was waited upon
by a body of about one hundred and fifty gentlemen of the name ol
Mackenzie, headed by Lord Tarbet, Sir Colin Mackenzie of Coul, and
Sir Kenneth Mackenzie of Cromarty. These last informed the general
that tlicj' had come as the representatives of Seaforth's tenants and vassals,
who would not come in themselves till they knew how they were to be
received, — tliat their rents had for several yeai's been uplifted by Daniel
Murdochson, Seaforth's factor or servant, and that they were not able to
pay them a second time, but tliat if they were discharged of these rents,
thej' would pay them in future to the government, deliver uj) their arms,
nnd live peaceably. Wade, who according to Lockhart was " a good
enough tempered man," at once acceded to this request, and informed
the deputation, that if the clan performed what had been promised, he
would endeavour in the next session of parliament to procure a pardon
lor Seaforth and all his friends. After being well entertained for two or
three days at Inverness, the deputation, accompanied by Wade and a
small body of dragoons, went to Castlebran, wliere the arms of the clan
were delivered up, but not until Murdochson had secreted all those of
any value.* The IMacdonells of Glengary and Keppoch, the Camer-
ons, the Macdonalds of Skye and Glencoc, the Stewarts of Appin, and
others, made a similar surrender, but all of them were careful to conceal
the best of their arras. " No doubt," says Lockhart to James, " the go-
vernment vt'ill be at pains lo magnify and spread abroad their success in
disarming the Highlanders, but depend on't, its all a jest ; for few or no
swords or pistols are or will be surrendered, and only such of their fire-
locks as are of no value, so that a small recruit of good arms will put
them in better state than before. I mention this so expressly that you
may contradict reports to the contrary, lest they discourage those from
whom you expect foreign aid. I now plainly see that this Highland
expedition (whatever might be at first pretended or intended) is now at
ihe bottom a money job : the general has got a great sum of money to
pass through his hands for it, and his scheme is to be mighty civil to the
Highlanders, and under the colour of his having jjcrsuaded them to
give up their arms, (which the trash they give him will enable him to
represent,) to make himself pass as an useful man and fit to be continued
in Scotland with a good salar3'. But at the same time, I know likewise
that there are some of the government heartily vexed that the Highland-
ers have made no opposition, hoping, if they had, that in the time of
tranquillity they might have extirpated them, whereas, as matters have
been managed, they w ill still remain, and be in a capacity to serve you
wlicn fair occasion offers." f

The extraordinary excitement produced in Scotland by the levying of
the malt-tax might have proved dangerous to the government, had the

• I-orkhart Papers, vol. ii. p. IPG.
i Ltiicr of .M 1 Lukliari to James, Sd Sepl. 1725. Lotkliail Papers, vol. ii. p. 195.
II. 3 B

378 HISTORY OF THE HIGHI.ANUS.

paitizans of the Stuarts, assisted by a small foreign force, been in a run-
ilition to have taken the field. A new alliance was now proposed be-
tween the Cameronians and Highlanders, and negotiations actually en-
tered into for that purpose;* but the activity of the government in
suppressing the disturbances, destroyed for a time any hopes which the
Jacobites may have entertained of again embroiling the kingdom in a
civil war. They indeed attempted to keep up the resentment of the
people against the government, in the expectation that an invasion would
be attempted, but neither the court of France nor that of Spain was dis-
posed to embark in an enterprise which would have brought on a gen-
eral war in Europe.

About this time an event occurred, which, while it tended to create
factions amongst the adherents of James, made many of them keep eilher
altogether aloof from any direct management in his affairs, or abstain from
entering into any plan of co-operation for his restoration. This was the
dismissal of Mar from his post as minister of James at Paris, on the sus-
picion that he had betrayed the secrets of his master to the Briti^ll go-
vernment. From his situation he was intimately acquainted with all the
Chevalier's affairs, and knew the name of every person of any note it]
the three kingdoms who had taken an inlerest in the restoration of the
exiled family, with many of whom he himself had corresponded. The
removal, therefore, of such a person from the Jacobite councils could
not fail to excite uneasy apprehc nsions in the minds of those who had
intrusted him with tlicir confidence, and to make them extremely
cautious in again committing themselves by any act, which, if disco-
vered, would place them in jeopardy. To this feeling may be ascribed
the great reserve which for several years subsequent to this occurrence
the Jacobites observed in their foreign relations, and the want of unity
of action which formed so remarkable a characteristic in their subsequent
|iroceedings. As this affair forms an important link in the historical
chain which connects the events of the year seventeen hundred and fit-
teen with those of seventeen hundred and forty-five, a short account of
it is necessary.

During a temporary confinement at Geneva, IMnr had obtained a sum
of money, whether solicited or not does not appear, from the earl of Stair,
the British ambassador at Paris, withovt the knowledge of James. In a
narrative afterwards drawn up by Mar in his own justification, he state s,
that being in great straits he received this money as a loan lion; the
earl, who was his old friend ; but Colonel Hay, in a letter to Mr Lock-
hart of the eighth of Sejitembcr, sevtnteen hundred and twenty-five,
states that Mar had no occasion for such a loan, as " the king" remitted
him considerable supplies to Geneva, where his expense would be trif-
ling, as he was entertained by the town.f This matter might have been
Dverlcokcd, but he, soon tlicrraftcr, accepted a pi nsion of n\o tliiuif-ani'

• I....KIi:i]i l'ji|i. !■•■, vi.l. ii. (1. i;l?— ??-S. ♦ Sl.icI, |i. 177— ec).

AMBIGUOUS CONDUCT OF THE EARL OF MAR. 37!)

pounds from tlie government, over and above the sum of fifteen hundred
pounds which his countess and daughter actually thpn received bj way
of jointure and aliment out of the produce of his estate. Mar states
that before he iigreed to receive this pension he took tl;e advice of Ge-
neral Dillon, a zealous supporter of the interests of the Stuarts, whom
he had been accustomed to consult in all matters of importance, and
that the general advised him to accept of the offer, as by refusing it the
government might stop his lady's jointure, and that Lis estate would be
sold and lost for ever to his family; and that as he had been released
from his confinement at Geneva on condition that he should not act or
take any part against the government of Great Britain during his abode
in France, and should return when required to Geneva, that government
might insist on his being sent back to Geneva, whence he had been al-
lowed to go to the waters of Bourbon for his health. Mar couimuni-
cated the proposal also to James, in a letter of third February, seventeen
hundred and twe!ity-one, who at once sanctioned his acceptance of the
pension, and assured him that his sentiments in regard to him remained
unaltered. Notwithstanding this assurance, however, there is every
1 eason to believe that James had begun to suspect his fidelity ; and as
he could clearly perceive that INIar liad already taken his resolution to
close with the government, he might consider it his wisest policy to con-
ceal his displeasure, and not to break at once with a man who had .so
much in his power to injure him and his fiii nds.

Having thus succeeded in their advances to Mar, the government, on
receiving information of the conspiracy in which Atterbury was con-
cerned, sent a gentleman to Paris in May, seventeen hundred and twenty-
two, with a letter to Mar from Lord Carteret. This gentleman received
instructions to sound Mar as to his knowledge of the intended plot. On
arriving at Paris, the messenger, (who, it is understood, was Colonel
Churchill,) sei!t a letter to Mar requesting a private interview. Dillon
was present when this letter was delivered, and on reading it, IMar .savs
he showed it to Dillon, upon which it was arranged that Mar should m-
stantly call upon the person who had written the letter, and that Dillon
should remain in the house till Mar's return, when the object and na-
ture of the interview would be communicated to him. On Mar's re-
turn he and Dillon consulted together, and they both thought that the
incident was a lucky one, as it aiiorded Mar an opportunity of doing
James's affairs a good service by leading the government off the true
scent, and thereby prevent further inquiries. They thereupon drew
up a letter with that view, to be sent by Mar in answer to Carteret's
communication, which being approved ol' by another person in the con-
fidence of the Clievalier, was sent by Mar to the bearer of Carteret's
letter. Mar immediately sent an account of the affair to James and the
duke of Ormond, and he shortly received a letter from the former, da-
ted eighth June, seventeen hundred and twenty-two, in which he ex-
nrefsed himself entirely- satisfied with the course pursued by Mar on the

r"

SSO IlISTOBY OP THE HIGHLANDS.

occasion. To justify himself still farther, Mar states, that anions the
vouchers of his exculpation, there «as the copy of another letter from
James, written by him to one of his agents at Paris, dated the thirteenth
of August, same year, wherein he justifies and approves of Mar's con-
duct, and expresses his regret for the aspersions which had been cast
upon the earl about the plot.

Though James thus continued to ))rofcss iiis usual confidence in Mar's
ntegrity, he had ever since he became acquainted with his pecuniary obli-
gations to Stair resolved to withdraw that confidence from him by degrees,
and in such a manner as might not be prejudicial to the adherents of the
exiled family in Great Britain. But Mar, w ho, as James observed,* had
put himself under such engagements that he could not any longer serve
him in a public manner, and who, from the nature of these engage-
ments, should have declined all knowledge of James's secrets, continued
to meddle with his affairs as formerly, by taking the direction and man-
agement of those intrusted to Dillon, the confidential agent of James and
the English Jacobites. In this way was Mar enabled for several years,
when distrusted by James, to compel him in a manner to keep on good
terms with him. From the natural timidity of James, and his anxiety
to avoid an open breach with Mar, it is difficult to say how long mat-
ters might have remained in this aw kward state, had not the attention of
the Scottish Jacobites been drawn to Mar's pension by the report of the
parliamentary committee concerning the conspiracy ; and the represent-
ations of the bishop of Rochester respecting Mar's conduct, shortij- after
his arrival in France, brought matters to a crisis. In the letter last re-
ferred to, James thus intimates to Mr Lockhart the final dismissal ol
Mar. " I have been always unwilling to mention Mar, but I find my-
self indespensably engaged at present to let my Scots friends know that
I have withdrawn my confidence entirely from him, as I shall be obliged
to do from all who may be any ways influenced by him. This conduct
is founded on the strongest and most urgent necessity in which my re-
gard to my faithful subjects and servants have the greatest share. What
is her'! said of Mar is not with a view of its being made public, there
being no occasion for that, since many years ago he put himself under
such engagements that he could not serve me in a public manner,
neither has he been publicly employ 'd by me."

The charges made by Atterbory against Mar were, Inio, That about
the time he, the bishop, was sent prisoner to the Tower, Mar had writ-
ten him a letter which was the cause of his banishment. 2do, Tliat he
had betrayed the secrets of the Chevalier de St George to the British
government, and had entered into a correspondence with them, 'itio.
That he had advised the Chevalier to resign his right to the crown for
a pension ; and lastly, that without consulting James, he drew up and
presented a nieinorial to the duke of Orleans, containing a plan, which,

• LoUer lo Mr Lutkliaru 31st August, iT.il- LockliBrt rujjiis, vol. ii. j,. I.-jl

THE EAUL OF MAr's JUSTIFICATION. 381

under tlie pretence of restoring him, would, it acted upon, nave rendered
his restoration for ever impraeticable.

Tlie grounds on whicli Atterljui y founded the charge against Mar, ol
Ix'ing the cause of liis banisliuient, are detailed in the letter from Col-
onel Hay to Mr Loekliart helore alluded to. It is there stated, that at
the time Coionel Clmrehill met Mar at Paris, when he carried over
Lord Carteret's letter, he informed Mar that tlie British government
had intercepted tliree letters, sent by the same post, to three differ-
(ut persons, supposed to be then at Paris; and that, after being copied
they were forwarded, and according to the Colonel's information, who
arrived at Paris before the post, tliese letters reached their destination.
One of these letters under a fictitious name was designed for iMar, and
was duly delivered to him ; and though fully aware of the discovery made
by the government, he had the imprudence to return an answer, which
he addressed to the same fictitious name with which the three letters
were signed. In Mar's answer, the bishop's situation at the time, the
deatli of his lady, his illness, his going to his countiy-house ten miles from
London, <S:c. were so accurately described, that after the imprudent ad-
mission of Mrs Barnes respecting the dog, the govermnent at once fixed
upon the bishop as tlie author of the three letters. There was nothing,
however, in the letters on which to ground even a charge of construct-
ive treason ; and although Mar was certainly to blame in writing a let-
ter containing such pointed allusions, which he must have been aware
would be intercepted at the post-office, there is no reason for believing,
as insinuated by Atterbury, that he meant to insnare him.

As to the charge of having advised James to resign his right to the
crown for a pension, Mar refers in his narrative to two letters which he
wiote from Geneva to James and his agent, Dillon, on the twentieth
of January, seventeen hundred and twenty; in the former of which he
observed, that if James were to apply to the courts of France and Spain,
it was probable that, at the approaching congress at Cambray, they might
induce the British government to pay him a yearly allowance, which
would help him in his difficulties, and the payment of which might be
so contrived as neither to affect his honour nor prejudice his interest.
The plan he proposed for effecting this was, that the money should not be
paid directly to James himself, but should come through the hands of some
foreign princes, who might be prevailed upon so to interpose as if James
himself had no concern in the matter. The letter to Dillon was couched
in the same strain, with this addition that the proposal should be made
to the regent Orleans ; but in neither of these letters was the most dis-
tant hint given, that James was to resign his riglit to the crown.

To understand the nature of the last charge against Mar, that he
laid the scheme before the regent of France with a design to ruin James, .
Mar refers to the plan itself for his justification. The expulsion of
the Stiiar's from the Hritish throne had been always looked upon by

382 HISTORY OF THIi HIGHLANDS

thp French court as an event whicli, I)y dividing the nation into ri-
val factions, would enable France to humble and weaken an aucienl
and formidable rival. To encouraije the Jacobites and Tories in their
opposition to the new dynasty, and to embroil the nation in a civil
war, the French ministry repeatedly promised to aid them in anv at-
tempts they might make to overturn the governmeBt ; but true to the
line of policy they had laid down for themselves, of allowing the oppos-
ing parties in the slate to weaken each other's strength in their contest
for ascendancy, they sided with the weaker party only to prolong the
struggle, in the hope that, by thus keeping alive the spirit of discontent.
France might be enabled to extend her power, and carry into etiict hrr
designs of conquest.

To remove the objections which such a policy opposed to the Restor-
ation of James, Mar proposed that, upon such event taking place, Scot-
land and Ireland should be restored to their ancient state of independence,
and protected in their trade, and thereby enabled, as they would be in-
clined, to support " the king in such a manner as he'd be under no ne-
cessity of entering into measures contrary to his inclinations to gratify
the caprices, and allay the factions of his English subjects." * He also
proposed that a certain number of French forces should remain in Bri-
tain after James was restored, till he had modelled and established the
government on this footing, and that five thousand Scots and as many
Irish troops should be lent to the French king, to be kept by him in
pay for a certain number of years. Mar was fully aware that such
a scheme would be highly unpopular in England, on which account he
says, that although he had long ago formed it, he took no steps therein dur-
ing the life of Cardinal Dubois, whom he knew to be particularly attached
to the existing government of Britain; but that obstacle being removed,
he laid it before the regent of France, who, he says, he had reason to
believe, received it with approbation, as he sealed it up, and addressed it
to the duke of Bourbon, and recommended it to his care. To excuse
himself for laying the scheme before the duke of Orleans without the
Chevalier's knowledge, he states that he did so to prevent James, in
case of the scheme being discovered, being blamed by those who, for
particular reasons, would be displeased at it ; but that immediately after
the delivery he acquainted James thereof, and sent him a copy of it,
and at same time represented to him the absolute necessity of keejjing
it secret. Notwithstanding of this injunction, Colonel Hay sent a cojiy
of it to the bishop of Rochester, and Mar attributes the bad feeling
which Atterbury afterwards displayed towards him, to the proposal he
made for restoring Scotland to her independence.

The memorial was presented by Mar to the duke of Orleans in Sep-
tember, seventeen hundred and twentv-three ; but so little secrecy wiu

KKMAKKSON VI A R's CONDUCT. S83

iibsiivcd, that, in the month of January following, a statement appear-
(il ill tlie public newspapers, that a certain peer, then at Paris, liatl
laid a plan before the regent for restoring the exiled family. Though
the British government must have been aware, or at all events must
have suspected, after such a notification, that Mar was the author of
the scheme, his pension was still continued, and they even favour-
ed him still more by allowing the family estate, whicli was exposed
to sale, to fall again into the hands of the family on favourable
terms.

Ill reference to that part of Mar's justification, which relates to this
art'air, Colonel Hay, whom Mar accuses in his narrative of a design to
ruin his character, remarks as follows: — " Now, I am come to say
something about a memoriall, of which, in the abstract of the narra-
tive, it is said a copy of it was sent to the king, (the Chevalier de St
George,) after it had been presented to the duke of Orleans, yet the
king never acknowledged the receipt of it. Mar does me justice in say-
ing that I approved of certain articles relating to Scotland, though I did
not at the time believe them to be of so great importance, as he pre-
tiiided they were, neither were they represented as the foundation of a
scheme, which, had the king entered into it, must have put a stop to
his restoration for ever, without which these articles could be of no use.
I disapproved of the memoriall from the beginning, because, as I told
.Mar when I first saw it, that I thought the scheme impracticable ; that
England was not to be conquered with 6000 foot soulUiers, or the king's
friends in England to be led blindly into their own ruin, with sevrall
other reasons I need not repeat ; and tho Mar pretends that this was
contrived for the advantage of Scotland, I reallie cannot see what ben-
efite Irelands being more powerfull than England woud bring to us, and
as I coud not perceive at the time that Mar coud have any reason to
belive that Orleans was any wayes disposed to act for the king, I treated
the presenting of it, by the king's minister, then at Paris, as a very im-
prudent act, since I thought ther was a greater likelyhood of Orleans
doing a service to his strict ally, Hanover, by discovering it, than of his
entering into it: however, my caution in divulging it was very great,
and 1 thought it of such consequence, that none entrusted by the king
shoud at least be the fust to mention it ; tliat I did not open my lips
about it to any soul living during my absence from Rome, nor after I
ritiirned, till I knew Mar shewd some particular articles in it to some
people at Paris, informing them that the memoriall, because it was for
the interest of Scotland, was the reason of his disgrace. Then, indeed,
when I found the memoriall to be no more a secret, I thought it neces-
sary to send a true copy of it, that so were a false one handed about, a
true ciipy might be produced : and it does not consist with the king's
knowledge tliat the duke of Orleans sealed up the memoriall, and re
commended it to the duke of Bourbon, neither does it appear untnrall,
since Orleans dyed suddenlie, left his papers in the greatest confusion,

384 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

was not in gooct terms with his successor at the time of his death, and
Roud nowayes foresee that he was to succeed liim in the ministry." *

On reviewing the whole circumstances of Mar's conduct, evolved by
Atterbury's charges, it must be admitted that his justification is far from
being complete ; but though there exist strong suspicions of his fidelity,
there are not sufficient data on which to found a charge of wilful and
deliberate treachery. From the position in which he placed himself as
a debtor of Stair, and a pensioner of the British government, he could
no longer be trusted with safety b3' his Jacobite colleagues, and as he
had come under an obligation, as a condition of his pension, not to act
in behalf of the Stuarts, he was bound in honour to have abstained from
all farther interference in their atfairs ; but for reasons only known to
himself, he continued to act as if no alteration of his relations with the
exiled family had taken place since he was first intrusted by them.
Selfish in his disposition, and regardless whether the Chevalier de St
George, or the elector of Hanover wore the crown, provided his ambi-
tion was gratified, it is probable that, without harbouring any intention
to betray, he wished to preserve an appearance of promoting the intei
ests of the Stuarts, in order that the compact which he had entered into
with the British government, might, in the event of a restoration of that
family, form no bar to his advancement under a new order of things;
but whatever were his views or motives, his design, if he entertained
any such as has been supposed, was frustrated by his disgrace in seven-
teen hundred and twenty-five.

The breach with Mar was looked upon by some of the Jacobites as
a rash act on the part of the Chevalier, and they considered that he had
been sacrificed to gratify Colonel Hay, between whom and Mar an
irreconcileable difference had for some time existed. This opinion had
a pernicious influence upon the councils of the Chevalier, and to the
rupture with Mar may be attributed the denouement of an unliappj' dif-
ference between James and his consort, which, for a time, fixed the at-
tention of all the European courts.

In the year seventeen hundred and twenty the Chevalier de St George
had espoused the Princess Clementina, grand-danghter of John Sobies-
ki, king of Poland, who had born him two sons, viz. Charles Edward,
celebrated for his exploits in seventeen hundred and forty-five, and
Henry Benedict, afterwards known as Cardinal York.f Prince Charles
was placed under the tuition of one Mrs Sheldon, who, it is said, ob-
tained a complete ascendancj' over the Princess Clementina. As alleged
by the partisans of Colonel Haj', she was entirely devoted to Mar, and
served him as a spy in the family. To counteract the rising Influence
of Hav, she is represented to have incited the princess against him to
such a degree, as to render the whole household a scene of con^taiil

l.,.rMiii,l I'apcrs, V..1. ii. p. 2r(i.
ial.a Duiiiiber, 1720,— llio Ciudiiml ui.Oll. Manli. I .-/S.

DIFFERENCK BETWEEN THE CHEVALIER AND II ts PRINCESS. 385

ilisturbaiice. But whatevpr may have been (lie conduct of Mrs SheUlon,
tliere is good reason for believing that tlie cause of irritation proceeded
entirely from the behaviour of Hay and his lady, who appear not to
have treated the princess with tlie respect due to her rank, and who,
from the sway they appear to have had over the mind of her husband,
indulged in liberties wliich did not become them.

To relieve herself from the indignities which she alleged she suf-
fered, the princess resolved to retire into a convent, of which resolutiop
the Chevalier first received notice from a confidant of the princess, who
also informed him that nothing but the dismissal of Colonel Hay from
his service would induce her to alter her resolution. The princess af-
terwards personally notified her determination to her husband, who
remonstrated with her upon the impropriety of a step which would
prejudice them in the eyes of their friends, and make their enemies
triumph ; but she remained inflexible. In a memoir * which the Chev-
alier drew up in relation to tliis subject in his own justification, he as-
serts that he afterwards ascertained, from a person of great worth and
consideration, who had endeavoured to prevail upon the princess to
forego her resolution, that her displeasure was not confined to " Lord
Inverness," but that it also extended to " Lord Dunbar," (a title which
he had recently conferred on i\Ir James Murraj',) who had been ap-
pointed tutor to the young princess, " under pretence that the prince's
religion was in danger while he had the care of them."

Finding the Chevalier fully determined to retain Colonel Hay in his
service, the princess made preparations for carrying her resolution into
effect; and, accordinglj', on the morning of Thursday, the fifteenth day
of November, seventeen hundred and twenty-five, under the pretence of
taking an airing in her carriage, she drove oif to the convent of St Ce-
cilia, into which she retired, without taking any notice of a long letter,
by way of remonstrance, which her husband iiad written her on the
eleventh. f In a letter which she afterwards wrote to her sister, ex-
plaining the cause of her retirement, and which, it is understood, was
intended as an answer to her husband's memoir, she says, " Mr Hay and
his lady are the cause that I am retired into a convent. I received your
letter in their behalf, and returned you an answer, only to do jou a
pleasure and to oblige the king ; but it all has been to no purpose, toi
instead of making them my friends, all the civilities I have shown therr,
have only served to render them the more insolent. Their unworthy
treatment of me has in short reduced me to such an extremity, and I
am in such a cruel situation, that I had rather suffer death than live in
the king's palace with persons that have no religion nor conscience, and
who, not content with having been the authors of so fatal a separation
bclwixt the king and me, are continually teazing him i very day to part

• A|)iiei.ilix, No. V.
t Tiiis k-ller. aiitl a pre\ !..us out, ilaled 91I1 Novtmht-r, are |,ul)lijli«l amoi.s llie Look-
lu.u I'ai-.rs V..I. ii. p. 2lfi.

386 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS

With his best friends and his most faithful subjects. This at length de-
termined me to retire into a convent, there to spend the rest of my daj'S
in lamenting my misfortunes, alter having been fretted for six years to-
gether by tlie most mortifying indignities and affronts that can be ima-
gined." *

Tlie Chevalier was anxious tliat his friends should form a favourable
opinion of tlie course he had adopted in resisting the demand of his wife ;
and, accordingly, on the morning after her departure, he assembled all liia
household, and explained to them fully the different steps he had taken to
prevent the extraordinary proceeding of the princess. He also entered
into a justification of his own conduct, and concluded by assuring tiiem,
that it should be his principal care to educate his two sons in sueli a man-
ner as might contrilmte one day to the happiness of the people he ex-
pected to govern. With the same view, he immediately despatclicd copies
of the memoir, and of the two letters he had written to tlie princess, to
Mr Lockhart, to be shown to his friends in Scotland ; but as the memoir
and letters had been made public, copies of them were publicly hawkec
through the streets of London and Edinburgh, with a scurrilous intro-
duction, several weeks before Mr Lockhart received his comnuinication.
This was apparently done with the approbation of the government, as
the magistrates of Edinburgh compelled the porters of the city to cry
the papers through the streets. "f At first, the Jacobites imagined that
these documents were forgeries got up by the government, to make the
Jacobite cause contemptible in the eyes of the people ; but they were
soon undeceived, and great was their consternation when they found that
the papers in question were genuine.J

The court of Kome seemed to approve of the Chevalier's conduct in
refusing to remove Hay ; but when it was understood that the removal of
Murray, the young princes' governor, was considered by their mother even

• Lockhart Papers, vol. i!. p. 865. t Ibid. p. 242—261, SCO.

t Mr Lockhart, in a letter to the Clievalier, 12lh March, 1726, makes tlie following
judicious observations on the uifair of the separation. " Differences 't« ixt man and wife^
even in a private family, is so delicate a point, that a third person, without a very parti-
cular call and immediat concern, cannot well venture to interpose, and much less woud
I presume to say any thing on so nice and tender a subject, were it not attended with
consequences wherein so many thousands are atiected, and doth thtreby become a publick
nationall concern. Consider, Sir, 1 beseech you, the many advantages which the enimys
of you and your family draw from what has hapned, by inventing and propagating
many sturys which tend to lessen your character in the world, and which, iho ever so
false and improbable, are credited by some, and at least cretit fears and doub's in otiiers,
and by blasting the hopes of your leaving a. numerous issue behitul } ou. This very ar-
ticle is of the last consequence, for it is a truth naturall to imagine, and consists with my
particular knowledge, by the opportunitys 1 had of conversing often and knowing the
sentiments of my unkle, the lute Lord Wharton, and his intimates, that the enimys of
>our family were by nothing more encouraged to drive on and persist in their rebellious
ijchemes, than that in you alone existed the royal race of Stuart, and were in hopes that
with you it woud expire; whereas a numerous issue subsisting, is one of the most pow.
crful arguments in behalf of your just cause, as it draws alongst with it a disputable suc-
cession, whilst the present settlement continues, the many miserys whereof England las
by dear bought experience been taught." — Vol. ii. p. 258.

DEATH OF GEOKGE I. 387

of more importance than the dismissal of Hay, the pope sent a message
to James, intimating that if Murray were removed and Mrs Sheldon re-
stored to favour, a reconciliation might be effected with tlie princess, —
that, however, he wouhl not insist on IMrs Siieldon being taken back, but
that he could not approve ot nor consent to Murray being about the prince.
The Chevalier did not relish such iiitorrcrincc, and returned for answer,
that he had no occasion for the pope's advice, and that he did not con-
sider his consent necessary in an afi'air which related to the private con-
cerns of his familj'. As James was the pensioner of his holiness, the an-
swer may be considered rather uncourteous, but the Chevalier looked upon
such meddling as an insult which his dignity could not brook. The
pope, however, renewed his application to bring about a reconciliation,
nnd with such earnestness, that James became so uneasy as to express
a wish to retire from his dominions.* By the efforts, however, it is be-
lieved, of the princess's friends, aided by the repeated remonstrances o(
a respectable portion of the Jacobites, the Clievalier at length reluctantly
dismissed Hay from his service. According to Mr Lockhart, Haj" and
his wife had obtained sucli a complete ascendancy over the Chevalier,
that they had the direction of all matters, whether public or domestic, and
taking advantage of the confidence which he reposed in them, they in-
stilled into his mind unfavourable impressions of his best friends, and by
insinuating that the princess, and every person that did not truckle to
them, were factious, and that their complaints against the colonel and
his lady proceeded from a feeling of disrespect to himself, his temper
became by degrees soured towards his wile. To escape from the inso-
lence of these favourites, the princess, as has been seen, embraced, for a
time, a conventual life ; and while some of the Chevalier's adherents, who
had lost their estates in his service, left his court in disgust, others were
ordered away. It was currently reported at the time tliat Mrs Hay was
the king's mistress, and that jealousy on the part of the Princess Cle-
mentina was the cause of the rupture ; but persons who had ample op-
portunities of observation could observe no impropriety, and the princess
herself never made any such accusation. The pertinacitj' with which
James clung to his favourites greatly injured his affairs, and lessened his
character in public opinion. f

The death of George the First, which took place on Sunday, the twenty-
second day of June, seventeen hundred and twenty-seven, while ou his
journey to Hanover, raised anew the hopes of the Chevalier.J He was

• Letters from the Chevalier to Mr Luckh^irt, 3d Dec. 1725, aud IQih Jan. ITii;
Vol. ii. p. 253—230.

t Loikhart Papers, vol. ii. p. 339.

i George I., "hen eUi-loral prince, married the Princess Sopliia Dorothy, the daugh
ler of William, duke of Zell. Aflerbringijighiniason and daughter, she was superseded
for a mistress. The princess had been admired before her marriage by Count Konigs-"
mark. He arrived at Hanover while the prince her husband was with the army. It was
repoiled to the elector that his daughter-in-law received the count in the evening in her
own apaitments. Being "aiche<l, he was assas-sinated by the ordei-s and in the bitsti.eL

»S8 HISTORY OF THt II IGIIL A S'US.

at Bologna when this intelligence reached hini, and so anxious was li«
to be nearer England to watch the progress of events, and to be riaiiy
to avail himself of the services of his friends in Britain to effect his res-
toration, that he left Bologna piivately for Lorraine, the day after the
news was brought him of King George's death, although the princess,
who had just left the convent by the advice of )ier friends, was at the
time on her way from Rome to Bologna to join him. The journej' ol
the princess being publicly known, the Chevalier availed himself of the
circumstance to conceal his real design, by giving out that he had left
Bologna to meet her. On arriving at Kancy, tlie Chevalier despatched
couriers to Vienna, Madrid, and Paris, announcing the object of his jour-
ney, and at the same time sent a messenger witli a letter to Mr Lockhart,
who, in consequence of a warrant being issued by the British government
for his apprehension, had a few months before taken refuge on the conti-
nent, and was then residing at Liege. This letter, which is dated twenty-
second July, seventeen hundred and twenty-seven, embodying as it does
the views of the Chevalier, the state of his circumstances, and his opinion
of passing events, possesses considerable interest. It is as follows: —

" As soon as I heard of the elector of Hanover's death, I thought it
incumbent on me to put myself in a condition of profiting of what niiglit
be the consequences of so great ane event, which 1 was sensible I coud
never do at so great a distance as Italy ; and that made me take the
resolution of leaving that country out of hand and drawing near to Eng-
land, that I might be in readiness, without loss of time, to profit of any
commotion that might ensue in Great Britain, or of any alteration that
might happen in the present system in Europe on Hanover's death. At

of Ihe elector, oiib evening as he was leaving Uie ptUate. It was gelieraliy bilieveil lliat
slie was innocent, and tliat by the artifir.e of a mistress of Ernest Augustus, wlio liad suh-
fitituled another person for tlie princess, he was diawn to the spot. The prince, on his
return, immured lier in the castle of Alden, where shewiis conlincd for thirty-two yeais,
and dieil only seven months before licr husband. Her crime was never proved. Con-
vinced of her innocence, her son, George II., secretly kept a picture of her in his
possession ; and on the morning after tlie news of liis father's death reached London, he
hung up the portrait in his ante -chamber.' Mr Lockhart (Memoire, vol. ii. p. 252.)
sa\s, that about eight or ten weeks after the deatli of George I. a copy of a letter (of
whicli he gives a translation from the French,) was handed about at most of the courts of
Europe, especially in Germany, giving an account of his death. The letter stated, that
when the electress (wife of George L) ivas dangerously ill of her last sickness, she de-
livered to a faithful friend a letter to herhusbainl, and exacted a promise that it should he
delivered into his own hands. It coniaiiied a proteslationof her innocence, a reproach fur
his hard usage and unjust treatment of her, and concluded with a summons or citation to
her husband, to appear within a year and day at tlie bar of divine justice, and there to
answer for Ihe long and many injuries she had received from him. As this letter could
not, with safety to the bearer, be delivered in England or Hanover, it was given to him
in his coach on the road. He opened it immediately, supposing it came from Hanover.
He was so struck with the contents of the lelttr, that he was seized with convulsions, fol-
lowed by apoplexy, and soon expired. This story was discredited by some and believed
by others, iiiid from the industiy displayed in propagating it, it was supposed that it
was concocted b)' Ihe friends of the electress, and that her son, George Ii., anfl Ihe king
of Prussia were parlies to it.

• O.fnrrt-s Itriiui.i.-rmret.

VIKW^i OF THE CHEVALIER DB ST GEORGE. 389

the same time that I left Italy I despatched expresses to Vienna, Ma-
drid, and Paris, and have alreadio received tlio return of that to Vienna,
by wiiieh it is very ])lain tiiat the emperor woud be very desirous that
I eoud be in a eimtlition of ujaking ane attempt witliout any foreign
furee, and woud not even ubstruet my own passing privately tliro his
dominions fur tliat effect, tho ids miiubters declare at the same time that
bince the prelindnarics are signed he cannot give me any assistance.

" The answers from France and Spain are not yet come, but when
tliey do, 'tis to be expected they will not be more favourable, so thai
tor the present no foreigne assistance can be expected ; but with all that,
the present conjuncture appears so favorable in all its circumstances that
had I only consulted my own inclinations, I shoud certainly out of hand
have crossed the seas, and seen at any rate what I coud do tor my own
and my subjects delivery ; but as on this occasion I act for tiiem as well
as myself, and cannot hope without their concurrence to succeed in what
1 may undertake in our mutual behalf, I find myself under the necessity
of njaking no furder steps without their advice.

" "lis true the disadvantages I lye under are great and many ; I have
but a small stock of mony, scarce sufficient to transport what few arms
I have and what officers I may get to follow me on this occasion. Ime
sensible that it is nixt to impos^ible that a concert shoud be established
amongst my friends at home, such as woud be sufficient for a rising in
arms in ray favor before my arrivall, and by what is said before, llie
little hopes of foreign assistance will be sufficiently seen ; but with all
this, many arguments may be brought to authorise ane undertaking
which at first sight might appear rash. Our countrie is now (whatever
the outward appearance may be) in great confusion and disorder, the
people have had time to feel the weight of a foreign yoke, and are no-
wayes favorably inclined towards the present elector of Hanover. That
concert, vigor, and unanimity which does not precede my crossing the
seas, maj' attend and follow sueh ane event, and if the chief great powrs
in Europe are not all my declared friends, tlier is not one that is my
enimy, and that has not a particular interest to wish me on the throne ;
and were I in person in Britain at the head of even a small number of
my own subjects, it might naturally alter very much the present system
of some or other of them during the time of the congress, (that about to
be lu.ld at Aix-la-Chapelle,) but shoud it once meet, and affairs be ad-
justed there on the foundation of the quadruple alliance, foreign affairs
will take quite another face, and in all probability woud long remain so,
whilst the present elector of Hanover and his son might have time to
ingratiate themselves with the English nation ; so that all put together
it umst be concluded that if the present conjuncture is slip'd, it cannot
be expected that wee ever can have so favorable a one for acting by our-
selves, and that wee run the risk of allowing the generall afiairs of Eu-
rope to be less favorable to ns than they are at present; so that what-

390

HISTORY OK THE HIGHLANDS.

ever is not absolutely desperate ouglit certainly to be undertaken and
the sooner the better.

" I desire tlierefore you may think seriouslie on this matter, and let
me have your opinion as soon as possible, and if my going into England
be not adviseable, whether my going to the Highlands of Scotland
miglit not be found proper." To tliis letter is appended tlie following
postscript in James's own handwriting. " The contents of this will show
you the confidence I have in you, and I expect you will let me know by
the bearer, (Allan Cameron,) your advice and opinion, particularly on
tliis important occasion."*

From Cameron !Mr Lockhart was surprised to learn tliat tlie Cheva-
lier, notwithstanding the certainty he was under that he could look for
no foreign aid, and that his friends, both in Scotland and England,
had made no preparations to receive him, was not only inclined, but
seemed even resolved, to repair to the Highlands of Scotland, and
there raise the standard of insurrection, and that Colonel Hay, w hom he
had so lately discarded, was one of his counsellors on the occasion. As
Cameron, who had visited the Highlands some time before, and was well
aw are of the almost insuperable difficulties w hich opposed themselves to
the contemplated step, seemed to approve of the Chevalier's design ; Mr
Lockhart expressed his wonder that one who knew the state of the
Highlands so well, and the determination generally of the Highlanders
not to take the field again till they saw England actually engaged, could
advise his master to risk his person, and expose the country and his
friends to certain destruction. He observed, that there were indeed
some persons who would venture their all in any attempt headed bj' the
Chevalier in person, but as matters then stood, the number of such
persons would be few, and that the great majority of those that might
be expected to join him would consist of idle persons, actuated solely
by the hopes of plunder, who would abandon him eventually to the
mercy of the government troops that would be poured into the High-
lands, and that, under the pretence of punishing the few who had taken
up arms, they would ravage the countrj' and cut oft' the inhabitants, for
doing which the government only wanted such a handle.

In accordance with these sentiments, Mr Lockhart represented in his
answer to the Chevalier's letter, that the design he contemplated was
one of the greatest importance, and though it was very proper for him
to put himself in a condition to avail himself of any favourable circum-
stances that might occur, yet that appearances did not warrant such ex-
pectations,— that the people of England seemed to have forgot all the
grievances under which they had laboured during the late reign, in
hope of a belter order of things, and that until they found themselves
disapjiointed, he could expect nothing from them, — that with regard to

Loikl.i.rl I'Hl).

p. 35B.

hktiihx of THK CHEVALIEK to ITALY. 391

sucli of the people of Scotland as were favourably disposed, they could
not possiWy do any thing without being previously provided with many
nuiterial things they stood in need of, and that before these coukl lie
supplied, many difficulties had to be surmounted and much time would
be lost, during which preparations would be made on all hands to
crush them, — that although it would be of advantage to strike a blow
hefore the government had time to strengthen themselves at home and
aljroad, yet tlie attempt was not advisable without necessary pre-
cautions and provisions to insure its success, as without these such
an attempt would be desperate, and might ruin the cause for ever, —
tliat no man living would be happier than he (Mr Lockhart) to see the
dawning of a fair day, but when every point of the compass was black
and cloudy, he could not but dread very bad weather, and such as could
give no encouragement to a traveller to proceed on his voyage, and
might prove the utter ruin of liiniself and attendants.* This judicious
advice was not llirown away upon the Chevalier, who at once laid aside
his design of going to Scotland, and retired to Avignon, where he pro-
posed to reside under the protection of the pope ; but his stay at Avig-
non was short, being obliged to leave that place in consequence, it is
believed, of the representations of the French government to the court
of Rome. He returned to Italy.

• Lockliarl I'a(.Brs vi.L li. p. 3fl)

CHAPTER XVII.

Treaties of Seville and Paris — Disputes in Parliament about reducing the army — Inof-
fictual atiempi to repeal the septennial act — Message from the Ciown lo aui;mtiit the
forces — Debates — New Parliament — Whig and Tory invectives — Cuiiveniii'n of the
Prailo— Dehaies in Parliament— Defeat of iJie Tories, who retire from Parliament-
Scheme of Lord-Prcsiiient Fcrbes for securing the allegiance of the Clans — War with
Spain— Lord Marischal srlit to Madrid by the Clievalier de Si George— Jacobite as-
sociation in Edinburgh — Drummondof Boclialdy arrives at Rome — J.icobi;e intrigues
at Paris— Death of the Emperor (.:!.aries VI.— Accession of Maria Theresa— Con-
federacy against her — Neutralilj of Hanoi er — Meeting of the Hungarian Diet— Speech
of the Queen— Austiians ravage Bavaria— Retirement of Walpole — Proposed over-
tures to the discontented Wiiigs from the Chevalier de St George — Diummond of
Bodialdy arrives at Edinburgh, and Murray of Broughton at Paris — Pf in of a French
invasion— Charles, eldest son of the Chevalier de St George, ai rives at Paris — Pre-
parations for invasion — Alarm of the British ministry — Preparations for defence —
Sailing of tlie French Heel— Embarkation and failure of the ex pediliiin— Declaration
of war between France and England — Arrival of Murray of Broughton at Paris —
Interview with the Pj ince, wlio resolves to proceed to Scotlaird.

The natural desire to preserve his German dominions on the one hand,
and a wisli to establish himself and his descendants in his newly acquired
kingdoms against the designs of the abetters of the house of Stuart on
the other, induced George the First to enter into a variety of treaties,
and to form many alliances which seemed only calculated to draw Great
Britain into every continental dispute, and, as the Jacobites justly looked
upon war as the best auxiliary to their schemes, to endanger that very
succession which he was so anxious to perpetuate. But although war-
like preparations were made on all sides, and partial hostilities commit-
ted, the opposing states were averse to war; and after many negotiations,
the powers at variance agreed to certain preliminaries, which were
signed at Vienna on the thirty-first day of May, seventeen hundred and
twenty-seven, by which it was, inter alia, agreed that hostilities should
immediately cease ; that the charter of the Ostend company, which was
injurious to the commerce of England and France, should be siis])ended
for seven years, and that a reference of all disputes should be made to
a general congress to be held within four months at Aix-la-Chapelle.*

For the convenience of the French minister the congress was trans-
ferred to Soissons, where a peace would have been immediately conclud-
ed, had not the death of George the First raised new hopes of a Jacobite
restoration in the minds of the emperor, Charles the Sixth, and Philip the
Fifth of Spain. It has been alleged that these two sovereigns had formerly
entered into a secret treaty to restore tlie Chevalier de St George to the
throne of Great Britain ; but no evidence has yet been discovenrl of its

• Cnice, Kings of Spain. Roussil, li.ia-uil d'Artes. &C

DEBATES IN 1-ARLIAMENT ON THE STANDING ARMY. OOj

existence, although there are good grounds for supposing that they had
in view the expulsion of the house of Hanover. But whatever were
the views of Charles and Philip in regard to the restoration of the ex-
iled family at the period in question, their hopes were speedily extin-
guished by the tranquil succession of George the Second, and the re-
tention of Walpole in the post of prime minister. Thus disappointed
in his expectations, the king of Spain acceded to the preliminaries of
Vienna, which accession was followed by the treaty of Seville, to which
England, France, and Spain, were parties. As this treaty stipulated for
the garrisoning of the Italian fortresses by Spanish troops, the suppression
nf the Ostend company, and revoked the commercial privileges enjoyed
by the subjects of the emperor, Charles declined to accede to it, and
even threatened to involve Europe in a general war rather than give his
assent; but he at length yielded a reluctant compliance, and signed the
second treaty of Vienna in March, seventeen hundred and thirty-one,
by which the general tranquillity of Europe was established.

The nation naturally expected that the restoration of peace would
have been followed by a reduction of the standing army ; but Walpole
had too much penetration not to see the dangers to which the Hanover
succession would be exposed, were such a system adopted under existing
circumstances, and he formed his resolution accordingly. In the parlia-
mentary session of seventeen hundred and thirty-one, Sir W. Strick-
land, secretary, having moved that the army should be maintained to the
same extent as in the preceding year. Lord Morpeth moved an amend-
ment, that the number should be reduced from eighteen to twelve thou-
sand men which was supported by Sirs William Wyndham, Watkins
Williams Wynne, John Barnard, and others, and Lord Harvey. Sir
Robert Walpole, his brother Horace, and Sir Philip York, the attor-
ney-general, afterwards Lord Chancellor Hardwicke, argued for the
motion. On the part of the ministry it was maintained that the
maintenance of such a considerable number of land-forces was neces-
sary to defeat the designs of the disaffected, secure the internal tran-
quillity of the kingdom, defend it in case of foreign attack, and en-
able it to take vigorous measures in the event of a general war, —
that the science of war was so much altered, that little reliance could
be placed upon a militia in defending the kingdom from external attacks,
and that all nations were obliged, as a security against the encroach-
ments of neighbouring powers, to maintain standing armies, — that the
number of troops was too trifling to excite the jealousy of the people,
even under an ambitious monarch, — that the idea of infringing the lib-
erties of his subjects had never entered into his majesty's thoughts, —
that it could not be supposed that the officers, among whom were many
gentlemen of family and fortune, would ever concur in a design to en-
blave their country, — and that as the forces, now in pay, were annually
voted and maintained by the parliament, the representative of the peo-
ple, they could not properly be deemed a standing army. On the part

M. 3 D

394 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

of the tones or opposition, it was argued that a standing force in timt
of peace was unconstitutional, and had been always considered dangerous,
-^that a militia could be as well disciplined as a standing army, and that
the former had stronger motives to incite them to courage and persever-
ance than hired mercenaries, — that the internal peace of the country could
be sufficiently preserved by the civil power, — that the number of the dis-
affected, which was now quite contemptible, might be considerably in-
creased, if a standing army were kept up, and other arbitrary measures
pursued, — that although other nations had had recourse to standing ar-
mies for protection against neighbouring states, they had enslaved the
nations they were destined to protect ; but that Great Britain, from her
insular situation, had no need of such doubtful protection, — that this
situation was strengthened by a numerous navy which had given her the
dominion of the sea, — and that if this force was properly disposed, every
attempt at invasion would be rendered, if not altogether impracticable,
at least ineffectual, — that the arm}', though sufficiently numerous to en-
danger the liberties of the people, could be of very little service, from
the great extent of coast, in preventing an invasion, — that although they
did not question his majesty's regard for the liberties of his subjects, they
were apprehensive, that should a standing army be ingrafted upon the
constitution, another prince of very different dispositions might after-
wards arise, who would not stickle to employ the army to subvert the
constitution ; and though many of the officers were gentlemen of pro-
perty and honour, they might be discarded, and others of more
pliant dispositions substituted in their places, — that with regard to the
argument that the army was wholly dependent on the parliament, it was
sufficiently answered by the fact, that an army had formerly turned their
swords against the parliament, for whose defence they had been raised,
and had overturned the constitution both in church and state, — that in-
dependent of this, the hardship to the people of England would be
equally the same whether a standing army should be at once declared
indispensable, or regularly voted from year to year according to the
pleasure of the ministry, — that the sanction of the legislature to mea-
sures unconstitutional in themselves, and repugnant to the genius of the
people, instead of yielding satisfaction, would serve only to demonstrate
that ministerial influence operating upon a venal parliament, was the
most effectual way to forge the chains of national slavery. In addition
III these reasons, the opposition urged the reduction of the standing ar
my as a necessary consequence of a declaration made by his majesty,
tliat the peace of Europe was established, and that he had nothing so
much at heart as the ease and prosperity of his people ; and it was ar-
gued, that if eighteen thousand men were sufficient on the supposed eve
of a general war, a less number would certainly suffice when peace was
perfectly restored. All these arguments, however, against an undimiD-
ished standing army were quite ineffectual, and the motion was carried
by a large majoritj'. A similar result took place in the upper housu.

ATTACK on Sin ROBERT WAI.POI.E. 395

Next session the opposition resumed the subject, and urged their ar-
guments for a reduction of the standing army with such vehemence, that
the ministry found themselves obliged to liave recourse to the old bug-
bears of popery and the pretender, to obtain an acquiescence in their
measures. By insisting, as Sir Robert Walpolc did, tliat the chief thing
desired by the Jacobites was a reduction of the army, — that no reduction
had ever been made but what gave them fresh hopes, and encouraged them
to raise tumults against the government; and that the anxiety of the Ja-
cobite party was so notorious, that if a reduction was made, they would
send ofi'an express by post-horses that very night to the pretender: he
again carried his point. But these defeats only stimulated the tories to
fresh opposition. Walpole had made himself odious in the eyes of the na-
tion by proposing his celebrated excise sclieme, which he was obliged to
abandon from deference to public opinion, and a regard to his own per-
sonal safety. To keep up the odium against him, the opposition are said
to have spread a report tliat he intended to revive his hated schenae
in the session of seventeen hundred and thirty-four; but on his declaring
that he had no such intention, they resorted to other plans to get him
displaced. Besides the tories, there was a party of disappointed whigs
headed by Mr William Pulteney, who joined in the opposition. Pult-
eney had distinguished himself by his opposition to the Oxford admin-
istration, and on the accession of the house of Hanover was made sec-
retary of state. When Walpole retired from office he also resigned ;
but as Walpole did not procure for him the situation he expected on
the return of that minister to power, he broke with him : he, liowever,
afterwards accepted the appointment of cofferer of the household ; but,
on a fresh disagreement, he was dismissed from office, and, from that
time forward, became the leader of the discontented whigs. Among
other plans which the opposition now resorted to was the repeal of the
septennial act, — a measure which the tories and Jacobites had long de-
sired ; but as Pulteney and his whig friends had promoted the act, they
were reluctant to hazard their consistency by concurring in any measure
for its repeal, in consequence of which the question had been delayed.
That reluctance, however, being now overcome, a motion was made by
Mr Bromley in the house of commons for leave to bring in a bill to re-
peal the septennial act, and for the more frequent meeting and calling of
parliaments. The principal speaker in support of the motion was Sir
William Wyndham, who, in a speech of great boldness, displayed the
rancour of the opposition in the following revolting portrait which he
drew of Walpole in the character of a supposed minister: —

" Let us suppose a man abandoned to all notions of virtue and hon-
our, of no great family, and but a mean fortune, raised to be chief min-
ister of state by the concurrence of many whimsical events, — afraid, or
unwilling to trust any but creatures of his own making, — lost to all
sense of shame and reputation, — ignorant of his country's true interest,
— pursuing no aim but that of aggrandizing himself and liis favourites.

«5»0 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

— in foreign affairs trusting none but those vviio, tVoui tlie nature of tlieir
education, cannot possibly be qualified for the service of their country,
or give weight and credit to their negotiations. Let us suppose the true

interest of the nation, by such means, neglected or misunderstood, her

honour tarnished, — her importance lost, — her trade insulted, her mer-
chants plundered, and her sailors murdered, and all these circumstances
overlooked, lest his administration should be endangered. Suppose him
next possessed of immense wealth, the plunder of the nation, with a
parliament chiefly composed of members whose seats are purchased, and
whose votes are bought at the expense of the public treasure. In such
a parliament, suppose all attempts made to inquire into his conduct, or
to relieve the nation from the distress which has been entailed upon it
by his administration. Suppose him screened by a corrupt majority of
his creatures, whom he retains in daily pay, or engages in his particular
interest by distributing among them those posts and places which ought
never to have been bestowed upon any but for the good of the public.
Let him plume himself upon his scandalous victorj', because he has ob-
tained a parliament like a packed jury, ready to acquit him at all ad-
ventures. Let us suppose him domineering with insolence over all the
men of ancient families, over all the men of sense, figure, or fortune in
the nation ; as he has no virtue of his own, ridiculing it in others, and
endeavouring to destroy and corrupt it in all. I am still not prophesy-
ing ; I am only supposing, and the case I am going to suppose I hope
will never happen : but with such a minister and such a parliament, let
us suppose a prince upon the throne, either for want of true informa-
tion, or for some other reason unacquainted with the inclinations and
interest of his people, weak and hurried away by unbounded ambition
and insatiable avarice. This case has never happened in this nation ;
I hope, I say, it will never exist. But as it is possible it may, could
there any greater curse happen to a nation than such a prince on the
throne ; advised, and solely advised by such a minister, and that minis-
ter supported by such a parliament ? The nature of mankind cannot
be altered by human laws. The existence of such a prince, or such a
minister, we cannot prevent by act of parliament ; but the existence of
such a parliament I think we may ; and as such a parliament is much
more likely to exist, and may do more mischief, while the septennial
law remains in force, than if it were repealed ; therefore, I most heart-
ily wish for the repeal of it."

This virulent invective, which was levelled as much at the king as
the minister, was answered by Walpole in a corresponding tone, and the
motion was negatived by a great majority- Emboldened by this suc-
cess, Walpole, about the end of the session, and after a considerable
number of the opposition members had retired to their homes in the
country, delivered a message from the crown, expressing a desire that his
majesty might be empowered to augment his forces, if occasion should
require, between the dissolution of parliament, then about to take place,

NEW PARLIAMENT. 397

and the election of another. A motion for taking tlie message into con-
sideration, tliougli warmly opposed in tlie liouse of commons, was carried,
and an address presented to tlic king signifying compliance. Consider-
able 0]iposition was also made in tlie house of peers with as little effect
as in the commons. The ministerial influence was in fact too powerful to
be resisted with any probability of success. In particular, the minister,
by a proper distribution of places among the Scottish members and their
friends, had almost the whole of them at his nod ; and, accordingly, a very
large majority of the Scottish representatives were always to be found
swelling the ministerial majorities. To prevent the influence of the minis-
ter extending itself to the elections in North Britain, motions were suc-
cessively brought forward in the house of peers by the earl of March-
mont and the duke of Bedford, which were supported by the earls of
Chesterfield, Winchelsea, and Stair, and other peers. Both motions
were opposed by the dukes of Newcastle and Argyle, and were of
course negatived. To revenge himself against Stair, who had always
served the government with fidelity and zeal, Walpole deprived him of
his regiment ; and several other peers, who had opposed the excise
scheme, which he was forced to abandon, were also dismissed from
their employments.

The elections for the new parliament were warndy contested, but min-
isterial influence preponderated. The parliament met on the fourteenth
of Januarj', seventeen hundred and thirtj'-five. A division took place
upon the address, which showed the relative strength of both parties, twi
hundred and sixty-five having voted for the address, and one hundred and
eight3'-five against it. The session was not distinguished by any remark-
able occurrence, except some proceedings in the house of peers, in relation
to matters contained in a petition presented to the house, signed by the
dukes of Hamilton, Queensberry, and Montrose, the earls of Dun-
donald, Marchmont, and Stair, in which it was stated that undue
influence had been used, in the election of the sixteen Scottish repre-
sentative peers. The house fixed a day for taking the petition into
consideration; but they afterwards resolved to adjourn the consideration
of it to a short day, before which the petitioners were ordered to declare
whether they intended to dispute the election of all the sixteen peers, or
only the election of some, and which of them. The petitioners declared
that they did not intend to controvert the election of the sixteen
peers ; but they considered it their duty to offer evidence, that undue
methods had been used to influence the election, which were dangerous
to the constitution, and which mi^ht, if not prevented in future, equally
aflfect the rights of the elected peers, as those of the other peers of Scot-
land. The petitioners were next, after a warm debate, ordered to lay
before the house a written statement, detailing the instances of the undue
practices and illegal methods they alleged, and upon which they intend-
ed to proceed, and the names of the persons they suspected to be guilty
The petitioners, thereupon, represented to the house, that as they had no

398

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANUS.

intention to appear as accusers, they could not take upon them to name
p;irticular persons who might have been implicated in those illegal prac-
tices, but that their lordships, on taking the proper examinations, would
discover them. They, however, averred, from the information they had
received, that the list of the sixteen Scottish representative peers had
been made out previous to the election, by persons high in trust under
the crown, — that this list was shown to peers as one approved of by the
crown, was in consequence called the king's list, from which, except in
one or two instances of peers who were expected to conform, there was
to be no variation, — that peers were solicited to vote for this list with-
out alteration, — that attempts were made to engage peers to vote for
this list by promising them pensions, &c., — that sums of money were
given for this purpose, — and that pensions, offices, and discharges of
crown debts were actually granted to peers who voted for this list,
and to their relations, — .and that on the day of election, a body of troops
was drawn up in the Abbey court of Edinburgh, for no other purpose.
It would appear, than of over-awing the electors. This explanation was
deemed unsatisfactory, and the petition was rejected ; bat the allega-
tions which it contained were not without foundation.

During the two folloviing sessions, the opposition, overwhelmed by
the weight of ministerial influence, made a feeble resistance ; but in the
session of seventeen hundred and thirty-eight, they endeavoured to ex-
cite a warlike feeling against Spain, on account of the dissensions on the
subject of Spanish commerce; and to embarrass the ministry at the same
time, they insisted, though certainly at the expense of their consistency,
to reduce the army from seventeen thousand four hundred, to twelve
thousand men. Although Walpole might have urged the danger of a
war with Spain, into which the opposition was attempting to embroil
the nation, as a pretence for keeping up the array, he did not avail him-
self of such a line of argument, but openly declared that even if the
government had no other enemies than the pretender, and the disaffect-
ed part of the king's subjects, the danger from these was a sufficient
reason for keeping up the army. An attempt was made to turn the
fears of the minister into ridicule ; but he maintained that danger did
exist, and in an energetic speech, drew a portrait of a true Jacobite,
which many who heard him could not fail to observe, was intended
as a representation of themselves.

" I am sorry to see, sir, (he observed,) that this is a sort of fear,
(vhich many amongst^us endeavour to turn into ridicule; and for that
purpose they tell us that though many of our subjects are discontented
and uneasy, very few are disaffected. I must beg leave to be of a dif-
ferent opinion ; for I believe most of the discontents and uneasinesses
that appear among the people, proceed originally from disaffection. No
man of common prudence will profess himself openly a Jacobite. By so
doing he ma3' not only injure his private fortune, but he must render
himself less able to serve effectually the cause he has embraced. Your

WALPOLE's DESCniPTION OP A JACOBITE. 399

right Jacobite, sir, disguises his true sentiments. He roars out for re-
volution principles ; he pretends to be a great friend to liberty, and a
great admirer of our ancient constitution; and under this pretence there
are numbers, who every day endeavour to sow discontents among the
people, by persuading them that the constitution is in danger, and that
they are unnecessarily loaded with many and heavy taxes. These men
know that discontent and disatt'ection are like wit and madness, separated
by thin partitions ; and therefore they hope, if they can once render the
people thoroughly discontented, it will be easy for them to render them
disaffected. These are the men whom we have most reason to fear.
They are, I am afraid, more numerous than most gentlemen imagine ;
and I wish I could not say, they have been lately joined, and very much
assisted by some gentlemen, who, I am convinced, have always been,
and still are, very sincere and true friends to our present happy
establishment."

Sir Jo!m Hj'nde Cotton, a concealed Jacobite,* stung by this re-
proach, thus retorted upon the whigs.

" I do own it gives me a good deal of surprise to hear gentlemen
who act upon revolution principles, talk in a manner so utterly at vari-
ance with the language of whigs in former times. Sir, I know not
what whigs the honourable gentlemen has been acquainted with ; but I
have had the honour and happiness to be intimate with many gentle-
men of that denomination. I have likewise, sir, read the writings of
many authors who have espoused those principles ; I have sat in this
house during the most material debates that have happened between
them and the tories ; and I can declare from my own experience, that I
never knew one who acted on true whig principles, vote for a standing
army in time of peace. What the principles of the whigs in former
days were, I can only learn from reading or information. But I have
heard of whigs who were against all unlimited votes of credit. I have
heard of whigs who looked upon corruption to be the greatest curse
that could befall any nation. I have heard of whigs who esteemed the
liberty of the press to be the most valuable privilege of a free people,
and triennial parliaments to be the greatest bulwark of their liberties ;
and 1 have heard of a whig administration who have resented injuries
done to tlie trade of the nation, and have revenged insults offered to the
British flag. These, sir, are the principles, if I am rightly informed,
that once characterised the true whigs. Let gentlemen apply these
characters to their present conduct ; and then, laying their hands upon
their hearts, let them ask themselves if they are whigs."

As Walpole was extremely desirous to avoid a rupture with Spain, a

• Sluart papers, in the possession of iiis Majes'iV, to whicii he was graciously pleased to
permit access for the purpose of enabling the author to illustrate the history of the rebel-
lion of 1745.

A'o/e. — The reference to the ** Stuart papers," in the subsequent parts of the present
work, relate exclusively to those in the immediate custody of his M^'esty.

400 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

convention with that power was concluded at tlie Prado, on the
fourteenth day of January, seventeen hundred and thirty-nine, by
which it was agreed, that within six weeks from the day on which tlie
ratifications should be exchanged, two plenipotentiaries should meet at
Madrid, to confer and finally regulate the respective prutcnsious of both
crowns, as to the trade and navigation iu Europe and America, and other
disputed points ; and that his catholic majcstj' should pay a certain
sum in satisfaction of the demands of British subjects upon the crown of
Spain, subject, however, to deduction of demands made by the crown
and subjects of Spain. At opening the session on the first of February,
the king, in his speech to both houses, alluded to the convention ; but he
abstained from stating the nature of its provisions, farther than that the
king of Spain had obliged himself to make reparation for the losses sus-
tained by British subjects, from the depredations of Spain. When the
terms of the convention became generally known, a cry of indignation
was raised against the minister, who, it was alleged, had sacrificed, the
honour of the country to the unjust and domineering pretensions of
Spain.

Backed by the general voice of the nation, the opposition again pre-
pared themselves to combat the ministerial phalanx. They first tried
their strength in several preliminary motions for the production of cer-
tain papers connected with the disputes on the Spanish question, in
which they were unsuccessful ; but they made their groat efibrt on the
ninth of March, when an address approving of the convention was
moved. Before the day appointed for taking the convention into con-
sideration, petitions had been presented to the house of commons by
merchants, planters, and others, trading to America, by the cities of
London and Bristol, the merchants of Liverpool, and the owners of
some vessels which had been seized by the Spaniards. In these petitions
it was stated that Spain, by the convention, was so far from giving up
the unjustifiable practice of searching British ships, trading to and
from the British plantations, that she appeared to have claimed the
power of doing it as a right, seeing that, although the differences arising
out of it were to be referred to plenipotentiaries, Spain had not even
agreed to abstain from the practice, during the time that the discussion
of this affair might last. These petitions, which prayed that the peti-
tioners might be heard against tliat part of the convention which seem-
ed to recognise the right of search on the part of Spain, were referred
to the committee appointed to consider the convention ; but a petition
from the trustees for establishing the colony of Georgia, praying to be
heard by counsel, against a clause in the convention, for regulating the
limits of Carolina and Florida, experienced a different fate, having been
rejected on a division.

The day for considering the convention having arrived, so desirous
were the commons to be at their posts, that by eight o'clock in the morn-
ing four liundred members had taken their seats. The address was

DEBATES ON THE CONVENTION WITH SPAIN. 401

moved by Mr H. Walpolo, wlio lauded the convention, urged the in-
ducements whicli Great Britain had to cultivate peace, the dangers of
war, and the designs of thn pretender. Mr Lyttelton, in an animated
speech, endeavoured to turn tlie argument thus addressed to the fears of
tlie audience to his own advantage. " After he (Walpolc) had used
many arguments to persuade us to peace, to any peace, good or bad,
l)y pointing out tlio dangers of a war, dangers I l)y no means allow
to be such as he represents tliem, he crowned all those terrors witli
the name of the pretender. It would be the cause of the pretender.
The pretender would come. Is the honouraI)!e gentleman sensible what
this language imports ? The people of England complain of the great-
est wrongs and indignities ; they complain of the interruption, the de-
struction of their trade ; they think the peace has left them in a worse
condition than before ; and in answer to all these complaints what are
they told? Wliy, that their continuing to sutler all this is the price
they must pa\' to keep the king and his family on the throne of these
realms. If this were true it ought not to be owned; but it is far from
truth ; the very reverse is true. Nothing can weaken the family ; no-
thing can shake the establishment but such measures as these, and such
language as this." In vindication of the convention, the ministry main-
tained that Spain had granted satisfaction adequate to the injury received,
— that all causes of complaint would be removed by a treaty of which
the conventiou was merely a preliminary, — that war, which was uncer-
tain in its events, was always expensive and injurious to a commercial
country, — that in the event of a rupture, France and Spain would unite
against Great Britain, — that she had no ally on whom she could depend
for effectual aid ; and that war would favour the designs of the disaffected
to restore the exiled family. Notwithstanding the force of these argu-
ments, the ministry made a narrow escape, the address being carried by
a majority of twenty-eight votes only in a house of four hundred and
ninety-two members.

Such a result, instead of encouraging the opposition to perseverance,
filled them with dismay, and they resolved to discontinue their attend-
ance in parliament. " Tlie secession," a.s this extraordinary step was
termed, was immediately after the division notified to the house by Sii
William Wyndhara in a speech of great pathos and solemnity. After a
pathetic remonstrance against the resolutions to whicli the house had
lome, he called the majority a faction which had arraigned itself against
the liberties of the nation, and thus concluded his harangue. " I here.
Sir, bid a final adieu to this house. Perhaps when another parliament
shall succeed I may be again at liberty to serve my country in the same
capacity ; I therefore appeal. Sir, to a future, free, uninfluenced house
of commons. In the meantime, I shall conclude with doing that duty
to my country I am still at liberty to perform, which is, to pray for its
pre.>ervation. May therefore that Power which has so often and so vi-
sibly interposed in behalf of the rights and liberties of this nation, con-

II. 3 F.

402

HISTOK\ OF THE HIGHLANDS.

tinue its care over us at this worst and most dangerous juncture, when
the insolence of enemies without, and the hifluence of corruption within,
threaten the ruin of her constitution !" Sir Robert Walpole, in a reply,
which has been characterized by Lord Chatham as one of the finest he
ever heard,* poured out a torrent of personal abuse upon Wyndhani, un-
paralleled in the history of parliamentary vituperation. He denounced
Sir William as the head of those traitors who for twenty-five years had
conspired to destroy their country and the royal family, in order to re-
store a popish pretender, — and who, in return for the clemency he had
experienced at the hands of the government after his apprehension, had
ungratefully abused that clemency by heading a party whose object was
to overthrow all law.

As it was easy to perceive that a rupture with Spain was almost in-
evitable, and as such an event would resuscitate the hopes and favour
tlie designs of the Chevalier de St George and his abettors, it became the
duty of the government to provide against any new attempts to stir up a
civil war in the kingdom. The Highlands of Scotland were the quarti r
whence the greatest danger was to be apprehended, not more on account
of the nature of the country, which was favourable to a prolonged war-
fare, than of the attachment of the greater number of the chiefs to the
house of Stuart. It was obvious, that in proportion as that attachment
was weakened, the interests of the house of Hanover were strengthened ;
yet strange to say, the government had devised no plan lor detaching
the Highland chiefs and their dependants from the fortunes of the exiled
family. It was reserved for Lord-president Forbes, a man not less dis-
tinguished for patriotism than political wisdom, to discover a plan for
securing the allegiance of the clans by engaging them in the service ol
the government, a scheme which, if acted upon, would have saved the
kingdom from the horrors of civil war, and preserved many worthy fa-
milies from ruin.

Before communicating his plan to the government. Lord-president
Forbes resolved to consult his friend Lord Milton, then lord-justice-clerk,
upon the subject. One morning in the end of autumn seventeen hundred
and thirty-eight, he visited Lord Milton at his house at Brunstane before
breakfast. Surprised at receiving such an early call, Milton asked him
what was the matter. " A matter," replied the president, " w hich I hope
you will think of some importance. You know very well that I am, like
you, a whig; but I am also the neighbour and friend of the Highland-
ers, and intimately acquainted w ith most of their chiefs. For some time
I have been revolving in my mind ditli?rent schemes for reconciling the
Highlanders to government ; now I think the time is come to bring for-
ward a scheme which, in my opinion, will certainly have that eflect. A war
with Spain seems near at hand, which, it is probable, will soon be followed
by a war with France, and there will be occasion lor more troops tl'an

» VVaip..!

VVISE SCHEME OF LORD PBESIDKNT FORBES. 403

the present standing army. In that event, I propose that governmenl
should raise four or five regiments of Highlanders, appointing an Eng-
lisli or Scottish officer of undoubted loyalty to be colonel of each regi-
ment; and naming the lieutenant-colonels, majors, captains, and subal-
terns, from this list in my hand, which comprehends all the cliiefi and
chieftains of the disaffected clans, who are the verj' persons whom France
and Spain will call upon, in case of a war, to take arms for the preten-
der. If government pre-engages the Highlandeis in the manner I pro-
pose, they will not only serve well against the enemy abroad, but will be
hostages for the good behaviour of their relations at home ; and I am
persuaded that it will be absolutely impossible to raise a rebellion in the
Highlands. I have come here to show you this plan, and to entreat, if
you ajjprove it, that you will recommend it to your friend Lord Hay,*
vvlio, I am told, is to be here to-day or to-morrow on his way to Lon-
ilon." " I will most certainly," ^aid Milton, " show the plan to Lord
Hay ; but I need not recommend it to him, for, if I am not mistaken, it
will recommend itself."

The earl of Hay having arrived at Brunstane next day. Lord Milton
showed him the president's plan, with which he expressed himself
very well pleased. The earl carried it to London with him, and
presented it to Sir Robert Walpole, who, on reading the preamble, at
once declared that it was the most sensible scheme he had ever seen,
and stated his surprise that nobody had thought of it before. Walpole
then laid the plan before a meeting of the cabinet summoned for the
purpose of considering it, at which he expressed his approbation of it in
the strongest terms, and recommended it as a measure which ought to
be carried into immediate execution, as a war with Spain might soon
take place. Singularly enough, every member of the cabinet, with the
exception of Sir Robert himself, declared against the measure. They
assured him, notwithstanding his strong recommendations of it, that (or
his own sake they could not agree to it, because if government should
adopt the plan of the Scots judge, the patriots (as the opposition was
called,) would denounce Sir Robert as a person who intended to subvert
the constitution, by raising an army of Highlanders to join the standing
army and enslave the people of England. The plan was, therefore, aban-
doned, and about a year after its njeciion Great Britain declared war
against Spain.f

Notwithstanding the convention, the differences between Great Bri-
tain and Spain remained unadjusted, and in the following year, as before
stated, war was openly declared against Spain. The opposition, there-
fore, returned to their seats, a measure which they justified by the de-
claration of war against Spain ; every assertion against the encroach-
nituts of Spain contained in the declaration being, as they alleged,

• Archibald, earl of Hay, the friend of Sir Robert Walpole. He 5Ui.cecdwi his bro-
llif r, John duke of Argyle, in the jear 1743.
t Home's History of the Rebellion of 1745, chap. i.

404 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

dlmost similar in expression to those used by the opposition against the
convention.

As soon as the Chevalier de St George received intelligence of the war
with Spain, he despatched Lord Marischal to Madrid to induce the court
of Spain to adopt measures for his restoration. But however willing Spain
might be to assist him, be was desirous that no attempt should be made
without the concurrence of France.* About the same time, that is, in
the beginning of the year seventeen hundred and fortjf, some of the
more zealous and leading Jacobites, in anticipation of a war with France,
held a meeting at Edinburgh, and formed themselves into an association,
by which they engaged themselves to take arms and venture their lives
and fortunes to restore the family of Stuart, provided the king of France
would send over a body of troops to their assistance. By a singular
coincidence, this association, like that which brought over King William
to England, consisted of seven persons, viz. Lord Lovat, James Drum-
mond, commonly called duke of Perth, the earl of Traquair, Sir James
Campbell of Auchinbreck, Cameron of Lochiel, John Stuart, brother to
Lord Traquair, and Lord John Drummond, uncle to the duke of Perth.f
The conspirators despatched Drummond of Bochaldy, or Balhady, (ne-
phew to Lochiel,) to Rome with the bond of association, and a list of
those chiefs and chieftains who were considered by the associates to be
favourable to the cause. Drummond was instructed to deliver these
papers into the hands of the Chevalier <le St George, and to entreat hirn
to procure assistance from France in furtherance of their design. The
project was well received by James, who, after perusing the papers, for-
warded them immediately by the same messenger to Cardinal Fleury at
Paris, with a request that the court of France would grant the required
assistance. But the cardinal, with that caution which distinguished him,
would come under no engagement, but contented himself at first by a
general assurance of conditional support.

The negotiation was, however, persevered in, but the death of the
Emperor Charles the Si.\th, which happened on the twentieth of October,
seventeen hundred and forty, drew oflf the cardinal's attention to mat-
ters which appeared to him of greater importance. The emperor was
succeeded in his hereditary dominions by his eldest daughter, Maria
Theresa, married to the grand-duke of Tuscany, formerly duke of Lor-
raine. Though this princess succeeded under the title of the prag-
matic sanction, which had been guaranteed by England, France, Spain,

• Letters to the duke of Oi moiid and Lord Marischal, 27th January, 1710, the origi-
nal copies of which are among the Sluiirt Papers in his Majesty's possession. Alluding
to his expectations of assistance from France, the Chevalier, in a letter (of which a copy is
also in the same collection,) written to Marischal on 11th January, 1740, while the latter
"as on his way to Madrid, says, " 1 am betwixt iiopes and fears, tho I think there i."! more
room for the Irrst than the last, as you ^rill have perceived by what Lord Sempil (so an
active agent of James was called,) has I suppose writ to you. I conclude I shall some-
time next month see clearer into these gj'eat atTairs."

t TriiU of Lord Luvst, p. 81.

CONFEDEIIACY AGAINST MARIA THERESA-

Prussia, Russia, Holland, and the whole of the Germanic oody, with the
exception of the elector-palatine, and the electors of Bavaria and Sax-
ony, a po«trful confederacy was formed against her by almost all these
powers, to strip her of her dominions. Maria Theresa at first looked to
France for support ; and, in expectation of receiving it, declined a proposal
made by Great Britain and Holland to form a grand confederacy against
llie house ofBourbon;* but France, regardless of her engagements, joined
(lie confederacy with the view of crushing the house of Austria. The king
of Prussia modestly demanded from Maria Theresa, tlie whole of Sile-
sia ; and, upon being refused, entered that province about the end of
December at the head of an army. He entered Breslau, the capital, and
took all the fortresses except Brieg and Neiss. In April, seventeen hun-
dred and forty-one, he defeated the Austrians at Mnluitz, and thus be-
came master of the whole of Silesia.

Alarmed at the formidable confederacy formed against her, the queen
(if Hungary applied to Great Britain for succour; but Sir Robert
Walpole evaded the demand, and recommended an immediate peace
with Prussia. The parliament, as well as the nation, however, had
difti?rent views ; and as the minister saw that he would be compelled to
fulfil his engagements to the house of Austria, parliament was called
upon to support the (pieen of Hungary, and maintain the liberties of
Europe. The commons cheerfullj' voted a sum of £300,000 to enable
George the Second to fulfil his engagements, wliich sum was remitted
to the queen of Hungary, and the contingent of twelve thousand Dan-
ish and Hessian troops, which Great Britain had engaged to furnish,
was got in readiness. Meanwhile the court of France concluded an of-
fensive alliance with the elector of Bavaria, by which she engaged to
send forty thousand men to join the elector, and another army of equal
force to keep the elector of Hanover and the United Provinces in check.f
\ treaty was entered into about the same time between Prussia and
France. This was again followed by a treaty to a similar effect between
the king of Prussia and the elector of Bavaria, by which Silesia was
guaranteed to Prussia ; Upper Austria, the Tyrol, Brisgau, and Bohe-
mia to Bavaria. By offering Moravia to the elector of Saxony, he was
induced to enter into the alliance, and signed a treaty with France. By
enriching Prussia, Saxony, and Bavaria, (the three rival powers which
disputed the dominion of Germany with the house of .'Austria,) with her
spoils, France expected to raise them to an equality with Austria, and
prevent her from ever again asserting the dominion of the empire.
Spain also prepared to attack the Austrian possessions in Italy, and the
king of Sardinia armed for the same purpose.

To counteract the efforts of the elector of Hanover in favour of Ma-
ria Theresa, a French army under Marshal Maillebois, marched into
Westj'halia, and threatened the electorate. George the Second, with-

* Cuse's House of .'inslria. t Fl»«5.in.

■tUD HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDIS.

out the knowledge of his minister, meanly proposed a neutrality for his
German dominions, and a treaty was accordingly signed by tlie French
and Hanoverian ministers ; but Lord Harrington, the British minister,
refused to put his name to a document which parliament, he was aware,
would not have sanctioned.* While the array under Marshal Maillebois
kept Hanover in check, another French army joined the elector of Ba
varia, w hom the French court had engaged to raise to the imperial dig-
nity. The elector marched towards Vienna, and his cavalry arrived
within a few miles of the capital ; but Fleury, jealous of the elector of
Saxony, induced the elector, by means of his agents, to draw off his
army towards Bohemia, lest the Saxons should make themselves masters
thereof. Frederick of Prussia had indeed strongly urged the elec-
tor to advance, and observed that " the Romans could be conquered
nowhere but at Rome ;" but the elector, more disposed to follow the
advice of the French minister, entered Bohemia and laid siege to
Prague, — a movement which preserved tlie capital and saved the house
of Austria from ruin.

While thus threatened with destruction by the combined attacks of
France, Spain, Prussia, Saxony, Poland, and Bavaria, Maria Theresa
displayed a firmness of soul worthy of her race and the justice of her
cause. Refusing to purchase peace at the expense of any portion of her
hereditary dominions, she resolved to appeal to the sympatliy and affec-
tion of her Hungarian subjects against the perfidy of her assailants. She
was crowned at Presburg in the month of June, seventeen hundred and
forty-one, amid the acclamations of a loyal and devoted people ; and, in
September following, she met the assembled diet in the same place. Her
appearance on this occasion harmonized with the object in view. Clad
in deep mourning, the crown of St Stephen on her head, and a cime-
ter at her side, she entered the hall and ascended the tribune. Every
eye was fixed upon her, and every heart beat with emotions of loyalty
and respect. Her youth, — her beauty, — her graceful charms, — the dig-
nity of her deportment, — her unbending integrity in defending the law-
ful possessions of her house, — the appeal which, as the heiress of a long
line of monarchs, she was about to make for protection against her ene-
mies,— all tended to rouse the national feeling in her favour.

After an explanation from the chancellor of the cause for wliich tlie
diet had been assembled, Maria Theresa addressed the deputies in a Latin
speech : — " The afflicted state of our affairs moves us to inform our faith-
ful subjects of Hungary of the invasion of Austria, and the peril of tliis
kingdom. It will be for you to consider of the remedy. This king-

• The Chevalier de St George, in a letter to the duke of Ormond, 1st November, 17't(>,
llius alludes to the treaty: — •* It will, to be sure, exasperate all our countrymen mucii
against the elector, and may have, 1 think, in general, very good consequences for my
interest. Byit tile Cardinal, (Fleury,) becomes master of affairs in Germany, and whin
he has settled matters there, I think it is reasonable to hope tliat he will turn hiij thou;:lita
"ieriously to what relates tomyinteresL ■ — Stuart Papers.

HETIREMIJNT OF WAI.IOLE — JACOBITK INTIllriUES. 407

(li)iii, — our person, — our children are at stake. Abandoned by all, wo
have no resource but the fidelity of the states of Hungary, and the an-
cient valour of the Hungarian people. We exhort the states and orders
to consult on the immiMtnt danger of our persoii, our children, our
crown, and kingdom : and to give instant effect to their resolves. For
our parts, every order and class in the kingdom may be assured that the
pristine happiness of tlie country, and glory of the Hungarian name,
shall be the object of our dearest care and att'ection." No sooner had
the queen finished her speech, than the deputies, with spontaneous ac-
cord, drew their swords almost from the scabbard, and driving them
back to the hilt, exclaimed, " Moriamur pro rege nostro, Maria Ther-
esa !" — We will die for our king, Maria Tlieresa I The queen, unable
to repress her emotions, burst into ttars of joy and gratitude. The
states instantly voted large supplies of money and troops, and in a few
weeks a large army was collected and formed.

In the month of November the duke of Lorraine entered Boliemia at
the head of sixty thousand men, to relieve Prague ; but it surrendered
to the French and Bavarian troops before he could reach it. He there-
upon divided his troops into three divisions; the command of one was
given to Khevenhuller, the ablest of the Austrian commanders. To
keep up his communication with his own country, the elector of Bavaria
had posted twenty thousand men in different places. These posts were
attacked separately, and with the most complete success, by Khevenhul-
ler, who entered Bavaiia in the month of December, preceded by large
bodies of irregular cavalry, known by the name of Croats, Pandours,
and Tolfaches, who carried havock wherever they went.

While the flames of war were thus spreading over Europe, the situ-
ation of the British ministry was every day becoming more critical from
the clamours of the tories and the discontented whigs. Walpole had
triumphed in both houses on motions for an address to the king to dis-
miss him from iiis presence and councils ; but his triumph was short, and
the approach of an election redoubled the efforts of his enemies. Though
the Jacobites required no incentive to induce them to assist in displacing
a minister who had been the chief obstacle to the restoration of the exiled
family ; yet to make perfectly sure of their aid, Lord Chesterfield went
to France, and by means of the duke of Ormond, obtained, it is said,
a circular letter from the Chevalier de St George to his friends, urging
them to do every thing in their power to ruin Walpole.* To encour-
age the popular clamour against the minister, reports, the most absurd
and incredible respecting him, were circulated among the people and

• Colonel O'Bryan, who acleJ sevuriil years as the Chevalior's charge des tiffiims at
Paris, had been made to believe that Walpole was favourably inclined lo James's restor-
alion ; but the Chevalier seems to have had some doubts on the subject. In a letter to
O'Bryan of 13ih January, 1740, he says, " Si Walpole a veiitablement mes interels on
veu, il sauia bicn s'addresser a mcy, par des voyes plus directes el plus authentiques."—
StiuiTt Puiiers.

408 HISTORY OP THE HIGHLANDS.

believed ; and while tlie general discontent was at its height, the eleo-
tions commenced. The contests between the two parties were extremely
violent ; but the country party, backed by the adherents of the prince
of Wales, who had formed a party against the minister, prevailed. So
powerful was the influence of the duke of Argyle, who had lately joined
the opposition, that out of the forty-five members returned for Scotland,
the friends of the ministry could not secure above six. The new par-
liament met on the fourth of December, seventeen hundred and forty-
one ; and \yalpole, no longer able to contend with the forces arrayed
against him, retired from office within a few weeks thereafter.

Encouraged by appearances, and imagining that some of the old dis-
contented whigs who deprecated the system which had been pursued
since the accession of the house of Hanover, of maintaining the foreign
dominions of the sovereign at the expense, as they thought, of the
honour and interests of the nation ; Drummond of Bochaldy proposed
to the chevalier to visit England, and make overtures in his name to the
"old whigs."* This plan was highly approved of by James, who wrote
him a letter in his own hand, which was intended to be exhibited to such
persons as might seem inclined to favour his restoration. This letter was
inclosed in a private letter containing instructions! for the regulation of
his conduct in the proposed negotiation, which, it was intended should
be kept an entire secret from the Jacobites, both in England and
Scotland. Erskine of Grange, who enjoyed the confidence of some ol
the discontented whigs, and who privately favoured the designs of the
exiled family, was pitched upon as a fit person to make advances to the
old whigs.:):

In pursuance of his instructions, Drummond departed for England
about the beginning of the year seventeen hundred and tbrty-two, but
it does not appear tliat at this time he entered upon the subject of his
mission. He came privately to Edinburgh in the month of February,
same year, and there met some of the persons who had entered into
the association, and several others, who, in conjunction with the original
conspirators, had formed themselves into a society, denominated by
them " the Concert of Gentlemen for managing the king's affairs in Scot-
land." To these, among whom was Murray of Broughton, Drummond
represented that, on his return from Rome, he had been extremely well

• This sclieire was first broached by Drummond to Semiiil, aiiotlicr acuve agent of
the Chevalier, and communicated by him to James, who sif;nitied his approbation tif
it in a letter to Sempil, dated Nov. 22, 1741. " 1 approve very much in general ol' our
making application to the old whigs, and take it as a new and great mark of BalhaldTs
.-.eal. The offer he makes of being instrumental in that measure, I perused with sa^i^-
faction. What you write on the subject, I shall consider seriously on it betwixt this and
next week ; I shall by next post send you a packet for Balhaldy, with all that ;n»y ap-
pear proper and necessary from me on that particular." — Stuart Papers.
t Vide Appendix, Nos. X. and XI.

J There is, among the Stuart papers, a copy of a letter from the Chevalier de St George
lo Mr KrsMiie, 13 March, 1740, thanking him for the zeal he had shown in his causa

MISSION OF MURRAY OP BROUGHTON TO PARI.' 409

i-eceived by Cardinal Fleury, to whom he had delivered the papers which
he had carried from Edinburgh, — that the cardinal expressed great
satisfaction with the contents of these papers, had the pretender's interest
so much at heart, and was so sanguine of his success, that provided he
had sufficient assurances from tlie friends of the exiled family in Eng-
land, tliat they would assist in the restoration of tlie Stuarts, he would
send over an army of from thirteen to fifteen thousand men, the number
required; a division of which, consisting of fifteen hundred men, was to be
landed on the east coast of Scotland, at or near Inverness ; another of a
similar amount in the west Highlands of Scotland ; and the main body,
which was to consist often or twelve thousand men, was to be landed as
near London as possible. He added, that, provided assistance could be
obtained in England, the projected invasion might be put in execution
tlie following autumn. Before leaving Edinburgh Drummond had an
interview with Cameron of Lochiel, wlio came to town at his desire, and
to whom he communicated the result of liis mission to Rome and Paris.*
After a short stay at Edinburgh, Drummond returned to Paris,
where, according to his own account, as communicated in letters to Lord
Traquair and Lochiel, he had an audience of the cardinal, to whom he
represented matters In such a favourable light that he promised to carry
his design of invasion into effect in a very short time. The Frencli
minister, however, though he really seems to liave seriously contemplat-
ed such a step, was not yet in a condition to come to an open rupture
with England ; and to postpone the enterprise, he proposed to Drum-
mond that an application should be made to Sweden for a body of
troops to invade Scotland, and that a person from Scotland, along with
another person from France whom the cardinal would appoint, should
be sent thitlier to urge the application at the Swedish court. The
cardinal gave as his reason for thus deviating from his original plan,
that the Swedes being protestants, would be more agreeable to the
people of Scotland, than French or Irish troops. In accordance with
this proposal. Lord Traquair suggested that Murray of Bioughton
should be sent to Sweden on the proposed mission, but he declined.f

From the turn which the affair of the invasion liad now taken, and
the time when it was expected to take place being allowed to elapse
without any preparations on the part of France, a suspicion began to be
entertained by the members of the Concert, that the cardinal never had
any intention to invade Scotland, and that the whole was a scheme of
Drumraond's to keep alive tlie spirit of party in Scotland, and to make
himself pass for useful in the eyes of his employers. To ascertain the
real state of the case, Murray of Broughton, at the suggestion of Lord
Traquair, was sent to Paris in the month of January, seventeen hun-
dred and forty-tliree. He took London on his way, but before he reach-
eil the capital, he heard of the death of Cardinal Fleury. After stay-

• Lord Loval's Tii:il. |i. 75. f Il.iJ. p. 7C.

4lO HISTORY OF THE HIGMLAMIXS.

ing a short time in London, Murray went privately to Paris, where he
met Drumniond and Seiiipil, wlio managed the Chevalier's affairs in
France. They stated to him, that in all probability the scheme o( inva-
sion would have been carried into effect, had not the army of Marshal
Maillebois been sent towards Hanover instead of the coast of Flanders,
as at first intended ; and that from the interest taken by the cardinal in
(he affairs of the Stuarts, he had put all the papers relating to them into
the hands of Monsieur Amelot, the secretary for foreign affairs.*

At an audience which Murray afterwards had with Monsieur Amelot
at Versailles, the foreign secretary told him that, on being made ac-
(juainted by Sempil with the cause of Murray's journej', he had informed
the king of France of it, and that his majesty had authorized him to
assure Mr Murray that he had the interest of the Stuart family as much
at heart as any of the gentlemen who had signed the memorial of as-
sociation, and that as soon as he had an opportunity he would put the
scheme into execution. f

Shortly after this interview, Murray left Paris for London, accom-
panied by Druramond, who came over to obtain the assurances requir-
ed by the French court from the English Tories and Jacobites. After
remaining a few days in London, Murray returned to Edinburgh, to
report to his friends the result of his mission. Drummond stopt at
London, where he met Mr Erskine of Grange,:j; but although overtures
were then, it is believed, made to Lord Barrymore, Sir John Hynde
Cotton, and Sir Watkin Williams Wynne, they declined to give any
assurance or promise of support in writing. By desire of Druramond,
Lord Traquair met him in London shortly after his arrival to assist him
in his negotiations. §

At first view it may appear singular, and the circumstance must con-
vey a very sorry idea of the councils of the Chevalier de St George,
that a person of so little weight and influence as Drumniond, who was
utterly unknown to the English tories and Jacobites, should have been
sent on such an important mission ; but when it is considered that some
of the leading Jacobites were proscribed and in exile, and that those at
home were strictly watched by the government, and were therefore
afraid to commit themselves by any overt act, it cannot excite surprise
that the Chevalier availed himself of the services of one whom he con
sidered " an honest and sensible man." || Drunmiond was, however

• Lord Loval's Trial p. 76. + Ibiit.

J The Chevalier alludes to this meeting in a letter lo Sempil, 9lh April, 17^-3; ami
In atiolher of 16th IVIay fullowing, he mentions a long paper \^hich Mr Ei'skine had
sent liim on the stale of affuii's.- Stuart Papers.

i Letter from the Chevalier lo Sempil, 24th May, ni3.— Stuart Papers.

II Letter to Sempil, 16ih March, 1740. — Sluart Papers. Drummond was not the only
person employed by the Chevalier about this time to visit his friends in England. A
Colonel Bret, and afterwards a Colonel Cecil, with both of whom James corresponded,
ntade frequent journe}'S to England. The dutchess of Buckingham made many unsoli-
riitd trips to Paiis to hasten Cardinal Fleury's motions, but James was by no mi'unt

I'KUJliCTEU fRENCH INVASION.

considered, even by his original employers, as an unfit person for exe
cutin" the trust reposed in liira, and Lord John Drunimond, one of the
seven who liad signed the association, was quite indignant whon he found
him engaged in tlie mission to England.* Nor was Stnipil, another
agent, between wlioni and Drumniond a close intimacy subsisted, more
accc])table to the Scottisli Jacobites, some of wliom he offended by his
forward ness.f

During the earlier part of the year seventeen hundred and forty-three,
the French ministry were too much occupied with the war in Germany to
pay much attention to the affairs of the Stuarts ; but towards the close
of that j'ear they began to meditate upon an invasion of Great Britain.
The parliament met in the beginning of December, wlien a motion was
made in the house of peers by the earl of Sandwich J for an address to
the crown to discontinue the Hanoverian troops in British pay, in order
to remove the national discontent, which was represented to be so vio
lent, that nothing but their dismission could appease it. The motion was
negatived, but renewed in another sliape on the army estimates being
brought forward, when it shared the same fate. The attention of the
French ministry being drawn to these and similar discussions, and to the
general dissatisfaction which seemed to pervade the people of Great Bri-
tain, by the agents and partizans of the exiled family, backed by the
influence of Cardinal Tencin; entered upon the project of an invasion
in good earnest. The cardinal, who now had great influence in the coun-
cils of France, had, while a resident at Home, been particularly noticed
by the Chevalier de St George, by whose influence he had been raised
to the cardinalate, and he was moved as much from gratitude to his pa-
tron as from ambition to bring about the restoration of the Stuarts. S
The court of Versailles, indeed, required little inducement to engage in
an enterprise which, whether it succeeded or not, would at all events
operate as a diversion in favour of France in her contest with the house
of Austria, of which Great Britain was the chief support ; but it is not

satisfied witli her officiousness. In writing to her on 20th July, 1741, lie cautions
ner as follows: — " I must seriously recommend to you not to importune the old gentle-
man too much. When you have given liim what lights and information have come
to your knowledge, all the good is done, for in the present siiuatiun one would think iie
should want no spur to befriend us, and in all events he will go on in his own way, while
leazing him can serve for nothing but to make fiini peevish and out of humour." The
dulchess must have been possessed of some important papei-s, as James, in a letter to
Senipil, (2d May, 1713.) "riticn shortly after her death, expresses his concern lest her
Dapers should fall into Llie handi of the government. — Stuart Papers.

* Letter from Lord John to Secretary £dgar among the Stuart Papers. Appendix,
No. XV.

t LeUer from Lord Marischal to Lord John Drummond. Appendix, No. XVII.

^ Lady Sandwich was a zealous Jacobite, and declared, in a letter to the Chevalier de
St tieorge, that she would not live in England till he was restored. Vide her letter and
the Chevalier's answer, Appendix, Nos. XVIII. and XIX.

S The cardinal dined with James every Wednesday. Letter froniilie ( li*-v;Uicr to
" Ijord Inverness." 13lh January, J740. — Stuart Papers.

r

il2 HISTORY OP THE HIGHLANDS.

improbable that they at this time contemplated a more serious attempt
In intimating, however, his resolution to undertake the expedition, tlie
king of France notified to the Chevalier de St George that it was to be
kept a profound secret, and that neither the duke of Ormond nor Lord
Marischal should be let into the secret till the enterprise was ready to
be put into execution.*

The command of the troops designed for this expedition, amounting to
fifteen thousand men, was given to Marshal Saxe, an able commander, who
had distinguished himself in several campaigns ; and the naval part, con-
sisting of thirteen ships of the line, besides transports, collected at Dun-
kirk, Calais, and Boulogne, was intrusted to Monsieur de Roquefeuillc,
an officer of considerable experience and capacity. This force was
destined for the coast of Kent, and a smaller force was to be landed in
Scotland under the command of Lord INIarischal.f

While the preparations for the expedition were going on, Cardinal
Tencin kept up an active correspondence with the Chevalier de Si
George. As James felt rather disinclined to accompany the expedition
himself, he proposed that his eldest son, Charles, a j'outh of great pro-
mise, then in his twenty-third year, should go in his stead ; but as it
was doubtful whether the prince would arrive in time to join the expe-
dition, the Chevalier sent an express to the duke of Ormond requesting
him to accompany the expedition, and to act as regent, by virtue of a
commission of regency formerly granted him, until the prince should ar-
rive. On arriving in England, the duke was directed to advise with the
principal friends of the family, among whom he particularly enumerated
the duke of Beaufort, the earls of Barrymore, Westmoreland, and Or-
rery, Lord Cobham, and Sirs Watkin Williams Wynne, John Hynde
Cotton, and Robert Abdy.+ Having obtained the consent of the
French court to this arrangement, the cardinal, upon the completion of
the preparations for the expedition, despatched a messenger to Rome to
request the attendance of the young prince at Paris. Accordingly, on
the morning of the ninth of January seventeen hundred and forty-four,
Prince Charles, accompanied by his brother Henry and two or three
attendants, left Rome before break of day, but they had not proceeded
far when they parted, the prince on his route to France and the duke
to Cisterna.§ The former was disguised as a Spanish courier, and took
only one servant along with him on his journey. To account for the
departure of the two brothers, it was given out at Rome that they had

• See Appendix, No. XXI! I. + Ibi.l.

} See Appendix, No. X X. Lord Marischal, in a letter to the Chevalier de Si George,
6th September, 1744, insinuates, tiiat there existed a design on tlie part of the French mi-
nistry, or of the Chevalier's agent? at Paris, to exclude both the duke of Ormond ajid
himself from any share In the expedition. See Appendix, No. XXXIV.

S " My children," says James in a letter to Sempil. gth January, 1740, '• parted both
this morning from hence before day, the duke for Cisieriia and the prince for his long
journey. We have been at so much pains and contrivance to cover it, that I hope the
secret will \ie kept for some days, perhaps for several.*' — Stuart Paper*.

ARRIVAL Of PRINCE CHARLES IN FRANCE 413

gone to a boar hunt, and so well was the secret of the prince's real des-
tination kept, that nearly a fortnight elapsed before it was discovered.*

Provided with passports furnished by Cardinal Aquaviva, the prince
travelled through Tuscany and arrived at Genoa. From Genoa he pro-
ceeded to Savona, where he embarked in a felucca, and passing by
Monaco arrived at Antibes. From the latter place he proceeded to
Paris, where he met Marshal Saxe and other officers belonging to the
expedition, and after a private audience of the French king, he set out
incognito for the coast of Picardy. The route by Genoa and Antibes
was selected as the safest, and, from the season of the year, the most
expeditious ; but so unfavourable was the weather, that the prince had
to stop some days at different places, and when he reached Antibes he
was recognised, and information of his arrival there and of his departure
for Paris was sent to the British government by persons in its interest.
Hitherto the British ministry do not appear to have had any suspicion
that the armaments at Brest, Boulogne, and other French ports, were
destined for the shores of Britain, but the appearance of the eldest son
of the Chevalier de St George in France opened their eyes to the dan-
gers which now menaced them. At this time the military force in Eng-
land did not exceed six thousand men, so that if the threatened invasion
had taken place, a revolution would very probably have followed.f

Taken thus by surprise, the duke of Newcastle, as the organ of the
Biitisli ministry, directed Mr Thomson, tlie English resident at the
rourt of Frani'c, by a letter dated the third day of February, seventeen
hundred and forty-four, to make a remonstrance to the French minis-
try for having violated the treaties by which the family of Stuart was
excluded from the territories of France, and to require that the prince
should be obliged forthwith to quit that kingdom. No direct answer was
given to this remonstrance and requisition, nor would his most christian
majesty explain v/hat his intentions were until the king of England should
give satisfaction respecting the repeated complunts which had been
made to him touching the infraction of those very treaties which had
been so often violated by his orders.

• Alluding to the discovery, James soys, (letter lo Stmpil, 23d Janu.iry, 1740,) that it
made " a great noise, as you may believe, liere," viz. at Rome.— Stuart Papers.

t About iliis lime, if we may believe the accounts of the Stuart party, Ike spirit of Ja-
cobitism was widely diffused in Scotland. " Tlie violentest whigs," says Mr John Stu:iri
in a letter to Secretary Edgar from Boulogne, in February, 174't> " are become the must
zealous Jacobiies. My friend sajs that the last night of Ihe year with us (that is to say,
the prince's birth-night,) was celebrated there (in Scotland) as publicly as we could do il
here, — that he was himself in a numerous company of people of fashion, amongst whom
were several officers of the army, — that the health of Ihe day, the merry meeting, and a
whole train of such, were drunk publicly, — that about Ihe third hour, when the third
bottle had bani-hed all reserve, servants were turned out and Ihe doors lockt, one of Iha
company made a speech, and lilkd a bumper lo Ihe restoration, and damnation to every
one that would not help : the whole stood to their feel, drunk Ihe (some words are here
torn away in the original,) and their hands to their swords : Ihe officers pulled the cock-
8d«s out of their hals, trampled Ihem under feel, and then tossed them into the fire ; ihi-n
railed for mmic and serenaded the ladies with loyal tunes, songs," &c— Stuart Paperi.

414 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Meanwhile, the French fleet, consisting of fifteen ships of the line and
five frigates, under M. de Roquefeuille, sailed from Brest, and for
several days displaj-ed itself in the channel. Knowing the object for
M liich these ships had put to sea, the government was greatly alarmed,
and not without cause ; for, besides the paucity of troops in the island,
they had only six sliips of the line at home ready for sea, the grand fleet
being then in the Mediterranean. The activity and preparations of the
government corresponded with the magnitude of the danger with which
it was threatened. Orders were instantly sent to fit out and man all the
ships of war in the different ports of the channel. These orders were
60 promptly obeyed, that in a few days an English fleet of three ships
of 100 guns, four of 90, six of 70, and six of 50, was collected at Spit-
liead under the command of Sir John Norris.* Several regiments were
immediately marched to the southern coast of England ; all governor?
and commanders were ordered to repair forthwith to their respective
posts ; the forts at the mouth of the Thames and Medway were put in a
posture of defence ; and the militia of Kent were dii-'Cted to assemble to
defend the coast in case of an invasion. On the fifteenth day of Febru-
ary, the ariival of Prince Charles in France, the preparations along tlie
Frencli coast, and the appearance of the French fleet in the English
channel, were announced to parliament in a message from the king.
Both houses joined in an address, in which they declared their indig-
nation at the design formed in favour of " a popish pretender," and
assured his majesty they would take measures to frustrate so des-
perate and insolent an attempt. Tlie city of London, the universities of
f),\ford and Cambridge.f the principal towns in Great Britain, almost
all the corporations and communities of the kingdom, the clergy of the
establishment, the dissenting ministers, and the quakers, or Societj' of
Frends, presented similar addresses. A demand was made from the
States-general of the six thousand auxiliaries which by treaty they had
engaged to furnish on such occasions ; and this force was immediately
granted. Forgetful of the wrongs which he had suifered at the hands
of the government, the earl of Stair tendered his services, and was re-
iippointed commander-in-chief of the forces in Great Britain. Several
noblemen of the first rank followed his example, among whom was the
duke of Montague, who was permitted to raise a regiment of horse.
Orders were sent to bring over the six thousand British troops from
Flanders ; and both houses of parliament, in a second address, exhorted
the king to augment his forces by sea and land, in such manner as lu
should think necessary at this dangerous juncture of affairs. The ha
boas corpus act w as suspended for six months ; several suspected per-

• Memoirs of Europe, vol. ii. p. 197.

t The CItevalier de St George drew up an address to both universities. It bears tlio

same date (ii3d Decemljer, 1743,) as tlie two dedaralions published in 17J5. This address

n-as not published. Vide a copy from tlie original, in the possession of his Majesty, A [v

pemlix, Nn. XXII.

FAILURE OF THE FRENCH EXPEDITION. 41ft

;,ons were taken into custody ; the usual proclamation was issued for
putting tlie laws in execution against tlie unfortunate catholics and nou-
jiirors, who were ordered to retire ten miles front London ; and every
otlii'r precaution, deemed necessary for the preservation of the public
lratH|uillity, was adopted.*

lM('ans\hile tlie preparations for invasion were proceeding rapidly at
Boulogne and Dunkirk, under the eye of Prince Charles. Roquefeuille
had in his excursion in the channel come in siglit of Spithead ; and, as
he could perceive no ships tliere, he imagined that the English ships had
retired within their harbours. Judging the opportunity favourable, he
<letached M. de Barriel with five ships of war to hasten the embarkation
at Dunkirk, and to order the transports tiiereupon to i)ut to sea. Roquo-
feuille tlicn sailed up the channel with tlie remainder of his fleet as
fur as Duiigeness, a promontory on tlie coa-t of Kent, off which he
anchored to await the arrival of the transports. Having received
intelligence of Roquefeuille's arrival from an English frigate which
came into the Downs, Sir John Norris left Spithead with the British
fleet, and doubling the South Foreland from the Downs, on tlie twen-
ty-third of February discovered the French fleet at anchor. Though
the w ind was against him, Sir John endeavoured, by availing himself of
the tide, to come up and engage the French squadron ; but, the tide
failing, he was obliged to anchor when about two leagues from the ene-
my. He intended to attack them next morning, but M. de Koquefeuiile,
not judging it advisable to risk an engagement, weighed anchor after
sunset, and favoured by a hard gale of wind from tlie north-east which
blew during the night, ran down the channel and got into Brest har-
bour. So violent was the gale, that all the English fleet (two ships only
excepted,) parted with their cables and were driven out to sea, and be-
fore it could have returned to its station, the transjiorts, under convoy
of the five ships of war despatched by Roquefeuille, might have disem-
barked the army under Marshal Saxe had the storm not reached the
French coast; but the tempest, which merely forced the English ships
to quit their moorings, was destructive to the expedition, and utterly
disconcerted the design of invading England.

On the very day on which the two fleets discovered each other. Mar-
shal Saxe, accompanied by Charles Edward, arrived at Dunkirk, and
proceeded to get his troops embarked as fast as possible. Seven thou-
sand men were actually shipped, and proceeded to sea that day with a
fair wind, but in the e\ening the wind changed to the east and blew a
hurricane. The embarkation ceased, several of the transports which
had put to sea were w recked, many soldiers and seamen perished, and a
considerable quantity of warlike stores was lost. The remainder of the
transports were damaged to such an extent that tluy could not be
fpttdily repaired.

• bii.oMtil's ilislorj of Eiiglaiiri, vi.1. Hi. book ii. < 1ir|). 5.

416 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Such was the result of an expedition planned with great judgment and
conducted with such secrecy as to have escaped the vigilance of the
government till on the very eve of its being carried into execution.
After the discomfiture it had met with from the elements, and the for-
midable attitude which England, aroused to a sense of the imminent
danger she was in, had now assumed, the French court must have in-
stantly abandoned, as it is believed it did abandon, any idea of renew-
ing the enterprise ; but Charles Edward, sanguine of success, and iu no
shape discouraged bv the catastrophe which had happened, daily impor-
tuned Marshal Saxe to re-embark his troops and proceed to England;
but the marshal excused himself, by urging the necessity of fresh in-
structions from court and the previous repair of the damaged trans-
ports.* The French ministry, however, finally resolved to postpone the
expedition.

Although war may be said to have virtually commenced between
Great Britain and France by the battle of Dettingen, which was fought
between the allies and the French in the month of June, seventeen hun-
dred and forty-three, no formal declaration of war was issued by either
power till the month of March following, after the expedition against
England had been given up. Immediately after that event, the Etig-
lis^h resident at the court of France was informed that a declaration of
war must ensue, which was accordingly issued on the twentieth of
March. This was followed by a counter declaration against France,
published at London on the thirty-first of the same month.

After the failure and abandonment of the enterprise. Prince Charles
retired to Gravelines, where he lived several months in private under the
assumed name of the Chevalier Douglas. Ever since his arrival in
France he had been forced by the French court to preserve an incognito,
which, though highly approved of by Drummond and Sempil, his fa-
ther's agents, was productive of great uneasiness to the Chevalier de St
George, who could not understand the reason for affecting to conceal a
fact which was notorious to all the world.f

• Tlie Marshal, in answer to a querulous note sent by the piince on lllli March, saj-s
in his answer on the 13tli, " Vous ne pouvez, Monseigneur, accuser que les vents et lu
fortune des contretemps qui nous arrivent." Bui lie promises after the ships were refit-
ted to proceed with the expedition — Stuart Papers. The letters of Saxe among the Stu-
art arcliives fully confirm the opinion of his illiteracy.

t James, however, at first approved of the incognito. Writing to Sempil, on 10th
March, 1744, he observes, ** The prince will have been liicd with his confinement; but,
us matters stand, the French court was much in the ri^lit to keep him private, tho' that
will not, it is true, hinder the elector of Hanover from taking the alarm, and his mea-
sures against the invasion." His views were different when writing Drummond on 12th
June. After complaining of the disagreeable wa}' in which the prince had been em-
ployed on his first arrival at Gravelines, (of which no particulars are given,) he contin-
ues, ** 1 shall not be easy till I know the prince is out of his strange and long confine-
ment and incognito, which must be so uneasy to him, and, I think, does little honor to
the king of Fiance, while it must carry something very odd whh it in tlie eye of the
public. But thrre were, to I.e sure, reasons for it which the public m vtr Uiilw, but I hope
1 sli,;ll at last.''— .S7u'?r( Paprrs.

INTERVIEW BETWEEN PniNCE CHARLES AND MURRAY. ■i ' '

The preparations for invasion had raised, not without foundation, great
hopes of a restoration in the minds of the Scottish Jacobites; but when
they ascertained that the expedition was relinquished, they felt all that
bitterness of disappointment wiiich the miscarriage of any cherished
scheme is sure to engender. They did not however despair of effecting
their object ultimately, and, in the meantime, the leading members of
the concert despatched a messenger to tlie prince to assure him of their
attachment to his cause, and inform him of the state of the country and
the dispositions of the people.* About the same time Murray of
Broughton went to Paris, by advice of the earl of Traquair, to ascertain
the exact situation of affairs. Here he was introduced to the prince
by Drummond and Sempil. At a private interview which he had with
Charles the following day, Murray stated, that from the absurd and
contradictory nature of the communications made by the prince's agent
at Paris, they had, as it appeared to him, a design to impose upon him
with the intention of serving themselves. Charles alluded to the asso-
ciation which had been formed at Edinburgh, said that he did not
doubt ti'at the king of France intended to invade Britain in the ensuing
spring, — that he was already preparing for it, and intended to execute
it as soon as the campaign in Flanders was over ; but that whether the
king of France undertook the expedition or not, he himself was deter-
mined to go to Scotland. Murray, thereupon, endeavoured to show him
that such an attempt would be desperate, as he could not at the utmost
expect to be joined by more than four or five thousand men ; but not-
witlistanding Murray's representations, Charles repeated his determina-
tion of going to Scotland. Murray says that he was so much against
the undertaking, that he spoke to Sir Thomas Sheridan — an Irisli gen-
tleman who enjoyed the prince's confidence — to endeavour to persuade

• The arrival of this messenger, who>e name was Blair, was announced by Drum-
mond of Bochaldy to the prince's faiher, in a letter, dated SOih July, 1744 : — " Yestei--
day night there arrived here, (at Dunkirlt,) a gentleman from Scotland sent by the duke
of Perlh, Lord Traquair, and young Lochiel, to inform the prince of the state and dis-
position of that country, and the hazard the clans run by Lord John Drummond at-
tempting to raise a regiment in your majesty's name, which he gloriously avei red to every
particular, «as by his majesty's command and order; but the dangerous ellect of tlii?
was prevented by the gentlemen of the concert, their prudence and influence in allowing
nobody of any distinction to give either countenance oi credit to it except his brother,
»hv>, it seems, they could not hinder from going sucli lengths as brought troops aboui
him, and forced him to abscond, till such time as the government came to understand
that the view was absolutely private in Lord John, and that the using your majesty's
name was an imposition for private ends, wliich the clans had disappointed as much as
iliey could. It would appear exaggeration to repeat lo your majesty the accounts this
gentleman brings of the real spirit and forwardness every man shewed on hearing that
the prince was coming to them, and what an universal melancholy succeeded that flow ol
spirits on being made certain of a disappointment." — Stuart Papers,

It appears from the Chevalier's answer (2Sih August. 1744,) to the above-mentioned
letter, that Lord John Drummond was authorised to raise the regiment: — " 1 remarked
what you said last post in relation to Lord Jolm; he had my approbation for endeavour-
ing to raise a Scots regiment in the French service; and as 1 think that in general ihe
more troops there be of my subjects in that service, the better. 1 must recoiumend to you
not lo take any steps to obstruct the raisinir of the said regiment." — Sluarl Papen.

■I- a G

4l0 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

hiui against it, and that Sir Thomas told him, on liis arrival in Scot-
lamJ, that he had done so, but to no purpose. On returning to Scot-
land Murray reported to tlie members of the association ali that Iiad
passed at the conference with the prince ; and all of them, except the
duke of Perth, declared themselves opposed to the prince's resolution ol
coming to Scotland without troops.* Murray then wrote a letter to
Charles, stating the opinion of his friends, and representing the ruinous
consequences which might ensue from such a rash undertaking. This
letter was committed to the care of a gentleman who went to London in
the month of January, in the year seventeen hundred and ibrty-five ;
but he neglected to forward it, and it was returned to Murray in the
month of Apiil. Murray made several attempts afterwards to forward
the letter to France, and at last succeeded ; but it never came to the
hands of the prince, who departed for Scotland before the letter reached
its destination.f

During the spring of seventeen hundred and forty-five, the agents of
the Chevalier de St George renewed their solicitations at the French

• The prince's design was rumoured at Paris, and communicated by Sempil to the
Chevalier, who, in iiis answer, dated 23d February, 17*13, remarks as follows: — " 1
am noways surprised that some French people should have a notion of the prince's go-
ing to Scotland without troops, tho' nobody surely can enter into such an idea except
out of ignorance, and from not knowing tlie true state of things. But 1 am always
alarmed at it, because I think it impossible that the king of France should approve of
such a project, and that it is well known how much I should myself be averse to it. How-
ever, it will be always well that you use your best endeavours to refute so dangerous a
scheme, and that nobody can do more solidly and eflectually than yourself, from the lights
and knowledge you have of the affairs of Britain; and 1 own, till 1 see the contrary, I
shall, as long as the war lasts, alwajs hope that the French will take at last some gener-
ous resolution in our favor." — Stuart Papers.

t Such is the st-atement given by Secretary Murray on the trial of Lord Lovat; but
Mr James Maxwell of Kirkconnel, who was an officer in the prince's army, throws the
whole blame of the expedition of 1743 upon Murray. He says that while the prince,
upon the failure of the expedition of 1744, was deliberating as to the course he should
pursue, " John Murray of Broughton arrived from Scotland. This gentleman— whom
1 shall have frequently occasion to mention — had been all his life a violent Jacobite. He
had been of late very busy in the king's affairs in iScotland. I donl know what commis-
sion he had from the king ; but he went about and acted as the king's agent. He brought
assurances from several persons of distinction in Scotland of their readiness to join the
prince upon his landing; but they entreated his royal highness not to think of coming
xvithout a body of regular troops, a considerable sum of money, and a great store of
ammunition and arms. Murray finding there was no appearance of obtaining these
things from the court of France at present, and impatient of delay, for reasons best
known to himself, advised the pnnce in his own name to come to Scotland at any rate;
it was his opinion that the prince should come to Scotland as well provided and attended
as possible; but rather come alone than delay coming, — that those who had invited the
l)rince, and promised to join him if he came at the head of four or five thousand regular
liMops, xvould do the same if he came without any troops at all; — in fine, that he had a
very strong party in Scotland, and would liave a very good cliance of succeeding. Thii
was more than enough to determine the prince. The exptdition was resolved upon, and
Murray despatched to Scotland with such orders and instructions as were thought proper
at that juncture." — MS. in the possession of the family of Kirhconncl.

The letter No. XXXV. of tho Appendix, which appears to be the production oi
Murray, throws nu lifiht op this subjecU

FRUITLESS NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE FRENCH COURT.

court for another expedition ; but Louis and his ministers were too
much occupied with preparations for the campaign in Flanders to pa;
much attention to such applications. They however continued to
amuse the Jacobite negotiators with assurances of conditional support ;
but James began to perceive that little or no reliance could be placed
upon such promises.* To relieve himself from the enimi occasioned
by the failure of the expedition, and the state of seclusion in which he
was kept by the French government, and to obtain some knowledge of
military tactics, Charles applied for permission to make a campaign with
the French army in Flanders ; but although he was warmly backed in
his application by his father, Louis refused to accede to his wish.f
Though frustrated in his expectations of any immediate aid from France,
and denied the trifling gratification of making a campaign, Charles ma-
nifested little of the restlessness and hauteur which he afterwards dis-
played on his return from Scotland. Though he had much reason, as
he observed, " to be out of humour," he resolved, notwithstanding, to
bear with patience the disappointments which he had experienced.^

To ea^e his mind from the anxieties which pressed upon it, the Duke
of Fitzjames and other friends of his family, invited the prince to pass
the spring at their country-seats in the neighbourhood of Paris, where,
amid the society of his friends and rural recreations, he seemed, for a
time, to forget the object for which he had come to France.

• Vide Kxtracts of Correspondence, Appendix, No. XXIII.

+ Id. and the Chevalier's LeUers, Appendix, Nos. XXVI — .WXI.

t .\ppendix. No. XXXII.

APPENDIX

THE SECOND VOLUME.

APPENDIX.

No. 1.

Memoir of a Plan for preserving the Peace of the Highlands s written n
short time after the lievolution. [From the Original m the handwrit-
ing of Duncan Forbes, of Culloden, the President's fattier. Every
part of this plan seems to have been followed, in every point oj any con-
sequence.)

The strengtli of the kingdom of Scotland did stand anciently in the power of
Superiors over tlier Vassalls, and Cheefis over their Clanes ; which power, as it
was always burdensome to the King and Kingdom in tyme of peace, because
thes great Superiors and Cheeffs, proud of it, acted often insolently, and would
neither be commanded by King nor Law ; so was that same power of thers
evin as hurtfull in tymes of War: whicli may appear by the conduct of the
Scots affairs at Flowdon, Pinkie, Solloway Moss, and many other occasions,
when competition amongst them ruined the King's affairs ; for such as he could
neither humor nor engage by benetite, were often tempted to desert the com
mon interest, and leave it a prey to the enemy.

Wherefor the Kings of Scotland made it ther Bussines to break the power of
thes Superiors and Cheeffs, particularly K. James the 5', as may be seen in the
whole transactions of his reigne ; but all endevors to this purpose proved weak
and ineffectuall, till the Gospell came to be established in the kingdome h'j a
Reformation from Popery.

Since the Reformation, the strenth of the nation stands upon another bot-
tome ; for the preaching of the Gospell haveing brought in a light upon the
consciences of the people, the far greater part of the nation noiv weill neither
follow superior nor cheeff, but in so far as they are convinced that the under-
taking is consonant to the laws of God and the Kingdom.

And when K. Charles the 2''. came to the Crown, he found the designe of
his Predecessors so weell accomplished, that the nation was in ane inteir peace ;
theeft and robbery extinguisht ; vassallages and Clanes brok ; exact obedience
to the Law : the Gospel preached over all the Kingdome ; and ane orderly
discipline exercised in a weell governed Presbiterian Church, without shisme,
division, or so much as contradiction. So that never Prince was better stated
than he ; for he governed easily a people who had nothing to crave, save but to
have his commands and obey.

424 HISTORY OF THE HIUULANDS.

But tlie designes of the two last reignes being to introduce Poperv and arbi-
trary power, and men of conscience being improper instruments for brin<;ing
sucii purposes about, so contrary to their ingrained principles, it was found
necessary to overturne all the good establishment already made in the nation,
and act contrary to the Pollitick of former Kings, by setting up Superiors and
Cheeffs again, demolishing the streinths built amongst the Highland Clanes ;
so giving them loose reines to rob, and reassume ther former barbarity ; whereby
they became fitt instruments for destroying men of con ence, who were lyke
to stand in the way of thes alterations that were intended to be made upon
the religion and liberty of the nation.

This designe was prosecute, as is known, with much bloodshed, torture,
rapine, and ruine of familys; and was ending in the overthrow of all rights
both sacred and civil, when the Lord in his mercy raised up his Majesty who
now reignes, to delyver Scotland from misery, and setle it upon its old and
trew foundations; which is very neer accomplished, and tliat by methods lyke
to those which were used by former kings in making tlie nation happy, viz.
By making the parliaments free ; by settleing the Church in its former inte-
grity ; by restoring the opprest to their liveings ; and by settling Garrisons upon
the necks of tliose barbarous people who were the tools of oppression, and are
the constant disturbers of the nation. Were this fully compleated, ther rests
no more but that the king command what he will, and have the pleasure to see
the people joyfully obey all his comands, to the utmost farthing of ther
Estates, and last drop of ther blood.

And certainly the present course of affairs can terminate in nothing but this,
unless some contrary methods be taken to those which liave lately been so
successful in gaining the hearts of the people to the king ; which will hardly
happen, if tlier be not ill designing men put in trust, wlio may weaken the
hands of such as would serve the king best.

Therefor it is to be mynded, that ther is a party in Scotland whose affections
can never be gaind to the King ; and those are tliey who call themselves Epis-
copal, but realey are indifferent of that and all matters of that nature, and are
adicted to nothing but King James, under whose protection they formerly
opprest others ; and, in spyte of all the kyndness and forbearance can be shovv'd
them, will only comply to gain opportunity to bring him back if they can. The
certainty of this appears as clear as the sun, from three or four following Evi-
dences.

P'irst, from the testimony of the best Officers in the Army; who declare, that
after all ther converse and favourable endevors with these Men, they tind not
one in Scotland, who favors Episcopacy, but to the best of ther conjectures he
hates the King and the Government, and would have back King James ; nor
doe they find one Presbiterian, lett him have never so many other faults, but
would venter all for his Majesty, both ag" K. James and all his other enemys.

Secondly, This appears to be trew, from these Mens taking the oaths to his
Majesty in Parliament, after they were in compact with K. James to bring him
back. They having sworn only to tlie effect they might have latitude to act
and vote against the interest of him to whom they swore, and advance the
interest of him whom by their oaths and subscriptions they had renounced.

A third evidence, and a most convinceing one, that they will omitt no oppor-
tunity of bringing back K: Ja: if they can, is ther deportment upon the miscai-
riadge of the fleet ; the King being in Ireland, Maj : Gen'. Makay in Lockabei
with the Forces, all Letters and Intelligence being stopt from England lor
Beverall Posts ; then the Jacobite, or Eoiscooal oartv as they please to caU

APPENDIX. 125

themselves, contryvcd fals news anent his Majesties death, and K : James his
Landing in England with a French army, to whom tlie people had joyned, and
tlie State had intircly submitted ; upon wliich ther were many forged Letters.
Tlier Preacliers were very active in spreading these Reports, and in affoordinj
Horses to any who would take armes ; by whicli means a body of 4 or SOU
Horse were got together, wlio came the length of Stirling boasting great things,
and burning tlie Country. Wliile, in the mean tyme, upon the first report of
ther Insurrection, and a small uivit;ition from the King's Commissioner, some
seavcn thousand presbeteiians had drawen themselves together about Glasgow
marching towards Stirling, wher the Enemy were ; and, as is said, litle fewer
than 14 thousand more out of the Western Shyres were following with Carseland
and Buntine ; the terror whereof not only chased these Jacobites, already on
foot, away to the north, but also quashed all that was feard at that tyme from
Northumberland, the South border, and some great men within the kingdome.
By which it is evident, who are for the King, and who ag" him ; who are
willing to serve him, and who not ; who are able, and who not ; and, conse-
quently, who ought to be trusted, and who not.

Fourthly, It is also to be remembered, tliat those few unhappie men who
dttempted the overthrow of the Government of late, no sooner fell in any dis-
gust with his Majesty, but they joyned themselves in with these Jacobites, with
whom they entered into league, received impressions from them, and formed
dessignes with them of bringing back K. James ; wliich was prosecute with such
bold endevnrs amongst themselves, and such dark subtility amongst good people
to whom they durst never discover the bottome, that it wanted litle, at several
stepps, of taking its damnable effect. The craftiness of tlicr Insinuations was
such, to persuade that the K : would never doe the things which are now doon ;
And so great was ther influence, that the most and best of the people were
become desparate, and out of hope of any good at all from his Majesty ; whilst
in the mean tyme the Jacobites asserted (wher they durst be free,) that K :
James was ready to doe all that could be requyred of him. But no sooner was
ther any thing done in Parliam'. to the satisfaction of the people, but ther
hearts begane to warme towards the King ; and the Jacobite Combination
began to break, which certainly had no power in its self, but in so farr as they
were able by Craft and lyes to discourage honest men, and lay them asyde from
owneing the King's interest. By all which it is evident, that the following posi-
tions are undeniably trew ; viz'.

Tliat the things now doon are of infinite value to the nation, and without
which the people could never be easie, and therefor behooved to be doon.

2". That the nation, having receaved so great obligations from the King, will
never be ingrate to him ; but will make returnes to him of all tliey are worth,
ask it when he will.

3". That no Jacobite, or hardly any in Scotland who calls himself Episcopall.
can be trusted by his Matie.

4". That His Majesties Commissioner, in manadgeing as he did, and gaining
tlie hearts of the people to the King, has doon both King and Countrey the
best service could be doon ; and by that means hes rendered himself the we!
comest Agent that His Majesty can hereafter employ to that nation.

I know that evill designeing men suggest two inconveniencies in wliat is doon,
and they are both groundless.

The first is, that the Presbiterian Churchnioii will employ the freedome the
King and Parliament has given them too rigorously ag" those of the Epis-
copall Profession, wliich may irritate the Church of England. Verily, such as

II 3 H

4-J6

;iISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

suggest tnis know'very Iitle of the Presbiteriaa Ministers' Concerne for tnt
king's satisfaction, and prosperity of his affairs. I am confident they will rather
omitt ther own affiiirs then trouble his, which will presently be seen in the
Deportment of this Assembly.

Another suggestion is, that the Commission of Parliament will be too ri^or-
ous in applying the Act anent Forfaulturs and fynes ; which is also groundless ;
For that Committee is so tender in these matters, that indeed, in my sense,
they are not so just as tliey ought to be : withall, ther Power is but to report,
and then is the whoU mater entire in the king's own hands.

From all that is said it may be concluded, that if what is already in frame
were compleited, and that one very small article past ancnt the constant Presi-
dent wholly indifferent to the King, but considerable to the People, hardly can
Scotland wish for more.

For compleiting what is so farr advanced, ther may be 3 things reckoned
necessary.

1. That the Councell of Estate be not mixt with troublesome Members.

2. That the Garrisons in the Highlands be rightly placed, and the Peace of
thes Countreys secured.

3. That the well-affected part of the nation be put in a condition to defend
the Coraon Interest; and either armed, or at least armes provyded, that may be
put in their hands in case of necessity.

As to the first, it is in the King's hand.

As to the second, anent posting of (jarrisons, and securing the Peace of the
Highlands, His Majesty will find it necessary to employ 1800 foot in Garrisons,
which are to be placed in eleven severall places ; which places are so advan-
tageously scituate, as that they comprehend the whole Highlands. That if tlie
!\ing's forces be marching through tlies Countreys, ther is no place they can be
in, but they are within 1-2 miles of two or three of thes Garrisons at once.
Tliey are proper for Magazins in tyme of Warr. and will save the trouble of
Baggage horee^ when tiie forces are upon a March, and are most proper for
;urbeing theefts and dapredations in tyme of Peace.

The first and most considerable post is Inver-Lockie, which requires 1'200
men ; out of which ther may be a Detachment of 40 at Kcppach, 6 myles above
Inverlockie, which opens the way into Baddenoch. At Rutven, in Baddenoch,
there m.ay be another Detachment of 80 men, also from Inverlockie. At Blair
in Atholl, 80 of the other forces. At the castle of Bray Marr, 60. At Drumond,
in Perthshyre, 50. At Fin Larik upon Loch Tay, .50. At Dunstafnage, 50 ;
which place, with the Castle Kilchume, ought to be both kept by the Countrey-
nien of Argyleshyre, upon the Earle's account (whilst his Business is a doeing
with Mull), and needs non of the King's forces. And upon the other side of
Inverlockie, is requisite ther be a Detachment of 80 men from thence, placed
at Invergarry, which opens the ways to the Shyres of Invernes and Ross. At
Invernes it is fit there be a body of three hundred men, out of whicli GO may
be posted at Erchclish in Strathglass (14 myles from Invernes and 1'2 from
Invergarry) ; that being upon the pass from Seafort and Lovat's Countreys to
Lockaber.

These posts are all possest already by His Majesty's forces, excepting Kippach
and Invergarry, which may be easily had ; and according as the Countrcy be-
comes peaceable, the lesser Garrisons may be disbanded ; only Inverlockie can-
nut be left, but if possible must be improvcn to a place of Comerce, to the effect
liie countrey about it may be made Civill.

And that the Government may be the sooner liberate from the necessity ol

APPENDIX. 427

keeping these lesser Garrisons, it is humbly proposed, that' His Majesty grant
a Commission of Justiciary, for securing the Peace of the Highlands, to some
select Gentlemen living in the Shyres most contiguous to them, as was doon in
the time of K. Charles the Second ; which will, undoubtedly, have a powerful
influence for suppressing of theefts and robberys, especially the forces beini;
posted as is above said. It did good in K. Charles and K. James his tyme,
when it was designed for none, nor yet put in any good hands ; so that now it
cannot miss to doe good, being in honest mens hands, the Government weell
disposed for the support of it, and the forces posted in a nianer for the very
use of it. It is also fit ther be Convecncrs named in each District ; that these
Conveeners have some allowance per annum, for the Incident charges they
must be at beyond the rest ; lest, through the shifting to be at expence, the
thing become less effectuall, as it did in K. James his tyme. The Comander
of each Garrison ought to be upon the Commission, and the Governor of Inver-
lockie a Convcener.

It is also requisite for Inverlockie, that it have a particular Jurisdiction over
the barbarous Countreys adjacent, as it had in former tymcs ; lest any encour-
adgement should be wanting to the Governor now which he had formerly.

And it is requisite that the Governor of Inverlocky be in no relation to any
of the adjacent Superiors or Checfs of Clancs, so it is necessary that none
of the highland sort, who speak a languadge not understood by the present
(iovernor, be put in with him in that place ; and what is presently amiss of that
kynd would be rectified.

And that this may be the more effectually doon, Collonell Hill his own re-
commendation would be had anent his officers, who certainly will think of none
but such as the Government may best trust.

It is also necessary that Hill's regiment consist of 1200 men ; in which case
it will Imploy all the Centinells that now are in tlie Regiments of Glencarne,
Kenmure, and Grant ; these three Regiments being pitifully defective, as can
lie made appear. And as by the reducing these three to one, ther will be
no fewer men in the service than now ther are ; so it will save the King twenty
thousand lb. Sterline yeirly, which may be employed to buy armes.

As to the 3d general! conclusion laid down for the security of the Govern-
ment ; vizt. that the weell affected part of the nation be armed, and put in a
condition to defend the Comon Interest ; the above proposall will contribute
to it some thing. And if that be short, when the Pailiam'. meets, his Majesty
hes it in his power to persuade them to accelerate the tearms of the Cess, at
the rate of a Concession very easy to him, and which will bring in the Money

and seasonably, as every thing may be doon to satisfaction Culloden Papers,

No. XX. p. U.

No. II.

" An account of the Hiyhland Clans in Scotland, with a short narrative of
the services they have rendered the crown, and the number of armed men
they may bring to the field for the King's service" Laid before Louis
the Fourteenth by the Scottish Jacobites.

The Highlanders are used to arms from their infancy, and may be reckoned as
good as their equal number of the best regular troops in Europe ; and they have,
on all occasions, (particularly under the command of the marquis of Montrose for

42R HISTOKY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

King Charles the First, and the viscount of Dundee for King James the Seventh,
in several battles defeated above double tlieir number of old regular troops;
and it is hardly possible to sustain tlieir charge, if they be rightly led on j they
being superior both in their arms and manner of lighting to any other troops.

The clans are here mentioned, with live hundred men to a regimeut. It is
here, that some of them can bring more men to the lield, and others fewer ;
but, computing them one with another, they may be reckoned so.

The three great branches of the M'Donalds, viz.

Clanraxald — Glengarie — Sir Donald JI' Donald of Sleat.

The captains of Clanranald's family have still been loyal, and liad a good
regiment in the fields for Kings Charles I. and II. and this present captain, at
iourteen years of age, was, with 500 men, at the battle of Killicranky for Kiiia
•lames VII. Tliis family has suffered much for their loyalty, by the oppressions
uf the family of Argyle, wlio have been rebels for four generations by past.

Clanranald's family and their followers are Catholics.

Glengarie liis predecessor, the late Lord IM'Donald, had still a regiment foi
the service of Kings Charles I. and II. and this present Glengarie had the same
for King James VII.

This family has suffered much also by the family of Argyle. Both he and
his followers are Catholics,

Sir Donald M'Donald of Sleat was with his regiment at the battle of Killi
cranky, for King James VII. and continues still very loyal.

These three branches of the I\l'Donalds, including other lesser branches of that
name, may bring to the field, of very good men, 1 jOO.

The three great branches of M'Duft', or Clanchattan, viz.

Farquh ARSONS — M'Intoshes — M'Phersons.

The Farquharsons have still been loyal ; for Findly Farquharson of Braemar
and Inverey was killed carrying the royal banner at the battle of Pinkie, in the
year lj47, against the English. His grandchild James Farquharson of Inverey
was, at 70 years of age, kept two years prisoner at Edinburgh for his loyalty ;
and was forced to pay a considerable tine before he was released. His son.
Colonel William Farquharson of Inverey, had still a good regiment for the ser-
vice of Kings Charles I. and II. under the command of tlie marquises of Hunt-
ley and Montrose, and the earls of Glencairn and Middleton ; and being still
without pay, and at his own charges, mortgaged all his estate for the said ser-
vice, worth about fjOO sterling a-year. Yet his son, Colonel John Farquharson
of Inverey, was among the first who took arms for King James \ II.; and after
all the other Highlanders had given over coining to the field, he raised betwixt
eight and nine hundred men, and sustained the small party of the King's officers
a whole campaign, acting offensively as well as defensive ; for which he had six
parishes (belonging to him and his relations,) entirely burnt and destioyed,
which was procured by the Lord Forbes and his family ; one of the most re-
bellious in Scotland, and their next neighbours. Witnesses of their last ser-
vices and sufferings are Colonel Rattray, Blajor Holmes, Lieutenant-colonel
Fitzsimons, and several others present iu France. Many of the name of
Farquharson and their followers are Catholics.

The M'Intoshes and M'Phersons, although they did not rise to aims all of
them, yet they still sent men to the field, botli for the services of Kings Charles
I. and II., and for King James VII. ; and are all of them at present loyal.
These three fore-mentioned branches, including others lesser about them, can
bring to the field, of very good men, loOO.

The M'Leans have still been loyal ; their chief, and oOO of liis name being

APPENDIX.

429

killed at Inverkething, for King Ciiarlea II. by Cromwell. They have been
also in the field for King Charles I., and they had, at the battle of Killicranky,
fnr King James VII., five hundred men, and will be found very ready, when
the king shall have use for them. They arc mightily oppressed by the family
of Argyle. Tliey can bring to the field, of very good men, 500.

The Camerons have still been loyal, and have still had a good regiment ni
the fields, for Kings Charles I. and II., and for King James VII., and continue
very loyal ; and may bring to the field, of very good men, .500.

The Stuarts and Robertsons of Athol have still been loyal, and have still
taken the field for the Kings Charles I. and II., and for King James VII., not
withstanding the present marquis of Athol, who was superior to the most part
of them, was then for the prince of Orange ; but it is now the better, that he
himself is loyal at present. They may bring to the field, of good men, 1000

The M'Naughtons and Stuarts of Appin, have still been loyal to the Kings
Charles I. and II., and to King James VII., and were in the fields for them ;
as was also RI'Neil of Barra, who, with his men, are all Catholics. They may
raise, of very good men, 500.

The Drummonds' loyalty is not to be doubted ; since they will certainly fol-
low their chief the duke of Perth, or his son the earl of Drummond. They
mtv bring to the field, of very good men, 500.

The M'Kenzies are neither to be doubted ; since they will follow their chief
the marquis of Seaforth. Thoy with other little names about tliem, may bring
to the field, of inditferent good men, 1000.

The Erasers are loyally inclined ; and may bring to the field, of very good
men, 500.

The M'Leods are loyally inclined ; and may bring to the field, of very good
men, 500.

The Sinclairs are esteemed loyal ; and may bring to the field, of indifferent
good men, 500.

Tlie JI'Kays and the Highlanders of Stratluiaver ; their superiors are not
loyal ; yet their commons can be brought to the field, and may do good service,
being joined with others ; they may make, of very good men, 500.

The Rosses of Balnagowan ; their chief is not loyal, yet his clan might be
brought to the field ; and they may make, of none of the best men, 500.

The Grants ; their chief has been very violent against the late King, and
raised a regiment against him, and entertained it three years at his own charges ;
yet his clan must be called to the field, and joined to others of unquestioned
loyalty. They may raise, of none of the best of men, 500.

The Campbells of Breadalbin ; their superior, the earl of Breadalbin, is a
very cimning man ; yet still pretends to be very loyal. They may bring to the
field, of indifferent good men, 500.

The Grahams of Menteith, and Stuarts of Down are loyal ; and may bring
to the field, of very good men, 500.

The M'Neils of Galchyle, M'Lauchbns, M'Kinnons, M'Aulays, M'Nabs,
iM'Gregors, M'Gibbons, M'Echins of Dumbarton, Argyle and Stirling shires
are loyal ; and may bring to the field, amongst them all. of very good men, 1000

The number of all the men is 1-2,000.

That which is commonly objected against the Highlanders is, that they do
not keep discipline, and that they plunder.

To which it may be easily answered, that at all the times the Highlanders
v.'ere in the fields, they neither had pay nor provisions, but what Providence
sent them from day to day ; and each soldier being obliged to go and search for

430 HISTORY OP THE HJGHLANDS.

himself, it was impossible to send an officer witli eacli of them : so abuses could
not be prevented ; and, were the most regular troops in Europe in the same
circumstances, they might be found as ill, if not worse, tlian the Highlanders.

Most part of all Lowlanders are their inveterate enemies, and seldom or never
speak or write favourably of them, and that from mere envy ; because a Hi"h-
land clan is capable to render the King better service tlian some of their first
nobility ; and, as to their lesser, a dozen and more of them cannot brin" so
many men to the field as one clan.

The King might likewise expect from the low countries of Scotland, at least,
20,000 men ; for the King hath generally, all the nation over, three for him,
for one against him. But supposing he hath but half, as certainly he hath
more, the militia of Scotland being 22,000 men, that half has but to double
their militia, which they may easily do, will make above 20,000 men. But the
King must carry arms for them.

Whereas the Highlanders are generally well armed of themselves ; and, at
most, will not want above a fourth part of their arms.

The Lowlanders will likewise want officers. — Nairne Papers, D. N. Vol.
II. fulio. No. 23. Macpherson, Stuart Papers, Vol. II. p. 117.

No. III.

" In various letters to the earl of Middleton, Sir William lillis, and others, from
their correspondents in England, it appears that some friends proposed to
the Chevalier de St George to change his religion, at least, to have protes-
tant servants, and a protestant clergyman with him. To satisfy them in
this last particular, Lesly, the famous non-juring clergyman, so often men-
tioned in these papers under the feigned name of Lamb, was sent for to
Bar-le-duc in the room of Mr West who was not so well known. Mr
Lesly wrote a letter on the subject, addressed to a member of parliament.
It was openly handed about by the party, and at the same time the Che-
valier himself wrote another on the same subject." — 3Iacpherson.

" Abstract of a letter, written in his Majesty's hand, on the subject of re-
ligion, to a person in England, to be shown to his friends there "

A copy in Nairne's hand.

Uarch lath, 1714.

I WOULD very much have wished not to have been obliged, at this time, to
enter upon so nice a subject as that of religion ; but your two last letters are
so pressing and positive, that it would be an unpardonable dissimulation in me,
should I not answer your letters with the same sincerity you write them.

I shall, therefore, begin by putting you in mind of the last conversation I had
with you upon that subject, to which I have nothing to add, but that I neither
want counsel nor advice to remain unalterable in my fixed resolution, of never
dissembling my religion : but rather to abandon all than act against my con-
science and honour, cost what it will. These are my sentiments ; and, had I
others, or should I act contrary to those I have, where is the man of honour
that would trust me ? and how could ever my subjects depend upon mc, or be
happy under me, if I should make use of such a notorious hypocrisy to get my-
self amongst them ? I know their generous character could not but detest both
the crime itself, and him that should be guilty of it. And would they but give

APPENDIX. 431

cliemselves time seriously to consider, I am persuaded they wouid not maKe my
religion the only obstacle to my restoration ; it being itself tlie greatest security
fur their liberties, properties, and religion, by putting it out of my power ever
to invade them should I intend it ; which is so far from my thoughts, that, on
the contrary, I am most willing and ready to grant all the reasonable security
tliat can be demanded of me, in relation to all these points, all my desire being
to make them a flourishing and happy people.

I can liave no other interest but theirs ; whereas, how many other rightful
heirs are there to the crown after me, who being powerful foreigners, may have
inclinations equal to their power, and may, very probably, never give rest to
England, till they enslave it in good earnest?

Will my subjects be always so blinded, as to make a monster of what is in
effect their greatest security; and not perceive and endeavour to prevent the
real and just causes they have of fear and apprehension ?

My present sincerity, at a time it may cost me so dear, ought to be a sufficient
earnest to them of my religious observance of whatever I promise them : for I
can say, with truth, that I heartily abhor all dissimulation and double dealing,
and I love my subjects even now too well not to wish, as much for their sakea
as my own, that they would at least open their eyes to see their true interest,
and timely provide for their future peace and quiet.

I know my grandfather and father too had always a good opinion of the
principles of tlie church of England, relating to monarchy ; and experience suf-
ficiently sheweth, that the crown was never struck at but she also felt the blow ;
and, though some of her cliief professors have failed in their duty, we must not
meas\ire the principles of a church by the actions of some particular persons. —
Naime Papers, D. N. Vol. III. ito. No. 27. and Vol. IV. No. 54. Mac-
pherson, Stuart Papers. Vol. II. p. 525.

No. IV.

An Anonymous Letter from Mr Duncan Forbes to Sir Robert Walpole ;
from a copy extant in the President's handwritinrj. This letter is sup-
posed to have been written in August, 1716.

Sib, — Mv constant affection for my King and Country will not permit me to
see the interest of both in danger of being ruined, without a deep concern ; and
when I discover that the miscliief proceeds from the drowsy negligence or selfish
designs perhaps of some ministers, I cannot help endeavouring to obviate the
misfortune by representing the case to such as ought to profit by the admoni-
tion. What moves me to address this unsigned remonstrance to you is, that of
a great while I have looked upon Mr Walpole to be an honest man ; and am
still very unwilling to part with that belief, notwithstanding of veiy shrewd
appearances to the contrary : however, I shall form my opinion in that matter
as I find this notice is used.

You need give yourself no trouble in endeavouring to find me out ; the
attempt will be impossible ; only, lest you should mistake me, from some of the
sentiments after expressed, I think it necessary to tell you that I am, and ever
was, a very zealous friend to the present settlement, which alone prompts me to
give you this intimation ; and that during the late confusions I exposed myself
as usefully for His Majesty's service, as any of those on whom the king, ill in-
tiirnied. lias bestowed the most distinguishmg marks of his favour. This de-

432 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

claration, since I am unknown, does not hurt modesty; and yet will appear to
be true, if there is a proper occasion for it. I have but one thing more to
acquaint you with, before I enter on the subject ; and that is, that it will not
be in j'our power to suppress this representation. INIy respect to the king will
hinder me from publishing it; but I will convey it into hands that will take
care of it : if you do not perceive, you will guess at my meaning, and act as you
will be answerable.

The people of Great Britain are but too well distinguished by the known de
signations of Whig and Tory ; of which the Whigs, to a man, are affectionate
to His Majesty; and the Tories, on the other hand, bating a very few, madlv
addicted to the Pretender.

As His Majesty has prudently chosen to settle the administration in the
hands of his friends the Whigs, it is unquestionably his interest to keep that
part of the nation satisfied with the public management ; and at the same time
to take as few steps, which may sharpen the resentment of the disatFected part
of the people, as the security of the government will possibly admit of. Britain
receives still another distinction from the two different kingdoms whereof it is
composed ; and though it is undoubtedly his Majesty's interest to cherish England,
as being the most valuable part of the king's dominions, it is by no means pru-
dent to disoblige Scotland by open injuries, wliich may create general dissatis-
factions, not to be ended but with the ruin of that part of the United Kingdom.

Sensible that the ministry has lately taken, and still pursues, measures un-
necessarily disobliging to the king's friends, exasperating the disaffected, and in
a particular manner ruinous to Scotland, I cannot help offering this representa-
tion ; in which, as I am a Scotsman, and best acquainted with the affairs of thai
country, I shall chiefly toucli its grievances ; resolved to assert no fact, and tc
give the character of no person, that I will not answer at the peril of my head,
if by clearing it I may do my King and Country service. — When the late Re-
bellion was happily ended by the Pretender's flight, his deluded followers found
themselves all in chains, or obliged to surrender and sue for mercj-, or to fly
their country with him. Every man concerned in that odious work certainly
deserved death, and the punishment due by law ; but humanity and prudence
forbade it. It was not fit to dispeople a country ; nor prudent to grieve the
king's best friends, who mostly had some concern in those unfortunate men ; or
expedient to give too just grounds of clamour to the disaffected.

It will be agreed on all hands, that the proper rule in this case would have
been, to have punished only as many as was necessary for terror, and for weaken-
ing the strength of the rebels for tlie future ; and to extend mercy to as many
as it could conveniently be indulged to with the security of the government ;
and this maxim every thinking Wliig had then in his mouth, however ofl'ended
at the insolences of the rebels. In place of a course of this kind, the method
followed was, 1st, To try all the criminals in England ; 2dly, To detain in pri-
son all those in custody in Scotland, except some who had interest with certain
great men to obtain a previous pardon, to the manifest dishonour of the govern-
ment ; 3dly, To attaint a vast number of Scots Noblemen and Gentlemen ;
4thly, To put it out of His Majesty's power to grant any part of estates forfeit-
ed ; and Sthly, To appoint a Commission for inquiry, and levying the rebels'
goods and chattels. The necessary consequences of this procedure in general
are two ; first, it makes all those who had the misfortune to be seduced into the
Rebellion, with their children, relatives, and such as depend on them, for ever
desperate ; and it is hard to tell what occasions may offer for venting their rage.
We see that want and hard I'ircumstanccs lead men daily into follies, without

APPENDIX. 433

any other temptation ; but wljen tliose circumstances are brouglit on by adher-
ence to any principle or opinion, it is certain the sufferers will not quit their
attempts to better their condition, but with tlieir lives. 2d, As there are none
of the rebels who have not friends among the king's faithful subjects, it is not
easy to guess how far a severity of this kind, unnecessarily pushed, may alienate
the attections even of those from tlie government. But in particular, as this
case relates to Scotland, the difficulty will be insurmountable. I may venture to
say, there are not '200 Gentlemen in the whole kingdom who are not very nearly
related to some one or other of the rebels. Is it possible that a man can see
his daughter, his grandchildren, his nephews, or cousins, reduced to beggary and
starving unnecessarily by government, witliout thinking very ill of it? and
where this is the case of a whole nation, I tremble to think what dissatisfactions
it will produce against a settlement so necessary for the happiness of Britain.

If all the Rebels, with their wives, children, and immediate dependants,
could be at once rooted out of the earth, the shock would be astonishing; but
time would commit it to oblivion, and the danger would be less to the consti-
tution, than when thousands of innocents, punished with misery and want for
the offences of their friends, are suS'ered to wander about the country, sighing
out their complaints to Heaven, and drawing at once the compassion, and
moving the indignation of every human creature.

Zealots and short-sighted people may perhaps think it just, that a nation so
involved with Rebels should suffer ; but let those men consider, that it was
much more owing to Providence, and to the vigilance of our King, than to the
inclinations of the people, that England did not discover as many Rebels even,
in proportion to its extent, as Scotland did ; and then let them examine how
far their reflection will hold.

I should spend too much time, and repeat what you, no doubt. Sir, have
heard often urged in parliament, did I enter upon the improprieties and incon-
veniencies of the Forfeiture Bill, as it affects Creditors ; therefore I sliall pass over
that article, and satisfy myself with assuring you, that those consequences,
which at first might easily have been foreseen, have now accordingly fallen out;
and that in this kingdom there are not an hundred persons who can be re-
strained from murmuring, upon any other consideration, than that they hope
his Majesty, against the ensuing sessions of Parliament, will overturn that fatal
Bill.

It's pity the ministers, in a point so important, should not be at some pains
to find out what impression this step makes on the people. A faithful inform-
er must report, that the King's friends in Scotland begin to fear that the nation
is devoted to destruction ; and that the most forward abettors of the conduct
of the Government, are forced to lay the blame on some particular persons, and
to promise that the measure will speedily be altered, as the only possible means
to preserve the hearts of his Majesty's loyal subjects dutiful to him. In short.
Sir, this course will very soon make a standing army necessary ; the King's
enemies say, that is the design of the ministry ; and it's certain his friends will
believe it, unless things take another turn.

If this forfeiting Bill was gone into, when the danger was over, from any
other view than that of crushing this poor country, it must have been with
the hopes of levying money for the Public Service ; and if it appear (as by and
by it will) to a demonstration, that it can have no such effect, 'tis hoped, with
reason, that the King and Parliament will either take it away, or not blame the
people who construe the contrivance of it into a design to ruin the nation.

To satisfy any person that the forfeitures in Scotland will scarce defray tlie

r

4U4

HISTORY OP THE HIGHLANDS.

Charges of the Commission, if tlie saving Clause in favours of the Creditors
take place, I offer but two considerations, that upon inquiry will be found in-
contestable. First, it is certain, tliat of all the Gentlemen who launched into
the late Rebellion, the tenth man was not easy in his circumstances; and if
you abate a dozen of Gentlemen, the remainder, upon paying their debts,
could not produce much money clear ; nor was there any thing more open to
observation, than that the men of estates, however disaffected in their princi-
ples, keeped themselves within the law ; when at the same time men supposed
loyal, in hopes of bettering their low fortunes, broke loose.

2dly. It's known, that the titles by which almost all the estates in Scotland
are possessed are dili|;ences upon debts affecting those estates purchased in the
Proprietor's own name, or in that of some trustees; now it's certain, that when
the Commissioners of Enquiry began to seize such estates, besides the debts
truly due to real Creditors, such a number of latent debts will be trumped up,
not distinguishable from the true ones by any else than tlie Proprietor, as will
make the enquiry fruitless, and the Commission a Charge upon the Treasury,
as well as a nuisance to the nation.

By what is above said (which, upon ane examination, you will find to be
certain truth,) it will be evident, that the forfeited estates are in themselves in-
considerable; and that they are good for little or notliing to any others except
the owners : wherefore it will be to the last degree imprudent, for the sake of
;uch a trifle, or rather for the sake of creating a revenue to the Commissioners
of Enquiry, to stir up a disaffection in the nation ; which may God and the
wisdom of our K. soon prevent.

But, allowing that this Bill should bring in 10 or ^20,000 per annum clear,
will any reasonable man imagine that that profit is to be put in balance with
the certain loss of the affections of the people ; especially when that event will
bring on ^£100,000 charge for maintaining an army to keep the nation orderly.

As I see with concern the terrible effects of the forfeiting bill, I am far
from thiuking that the Rebels should goe unpunished ; but then that punishment
ought to proceed according to the rule above set down ; that is, no farther
than is necessary for the security of the Goverment, and for the terror of others
wlio might attempt the like afterwards. Pursuant to this rule, an easy and
certain method might be fallen upon ; for example —

1st. Let the most leading, the most powerful, and the most malicious of the
Rebels, be pitched upon ; let them be executed if in custody ; if not, their
estates forfeited for ever. These men, in both nations, miglit possibly not ex-
ceed tlie number of 20 or thereby.

2dly. Let an Indemnity, by Act of Parliament, be published to all (except-
ing such as his iMajesty shall think fit) who sliall surrender against a certain
day, and at a certain place, and there to have their names recorded.

3dly. Let those persons be only entitled to pardon and to their estates, upon
their finding bail, 1. For their good beliaviour; 2. That they shall meddle in no
public cusiness, elections, <S:c. 3. That they shall present themselves once or
oftener a year at Edinburgh, or when his Majesty shall think fit, there to answer
to any Charge that can be made against them ; and i. That they shall neither
wear arms, nor converse one with the other, nor go witliout their respective
Counties without licence, under several Penalties.

These or such like securities might be devised, whereby the Government
would be absolutely safe, and the minds of all men sweetened ; while as, at the
iame time, by the execution of the most remarkable criminals all the ends of
Punishment would be fulfilled. And if some such measure is not pursued, it is

APPBNDIX. ■ 436

niili the last degree of regret 1 tell you, that the Pretender will gam many more
friends by the punishment of the Rebels, tlian he will lose by their overthrow.

After representing this important false step, I next proceed to take notice of
another ; wliicli, tho' of less prejudice to the K. creates a very general disre-
spect to his ministry ; and that is, tliat in a season when matters of the greatest
weight are on the wlieel, this Country should be entirely neglected, and the
management of it committed to a set of men hated or despised by almost all the
Kind's friends.

You cannot be ignorant, that the set of men known here by the name of
Squadrone, have in a very particular manner been of many years odious to
the people, on account of their selfish adherence to one another, in opposition
to every interest but tlieir own ; and you may easily persuade yourself, that they
have recommended themselves very little by their mean assentation to what has
so sensibly injured their Country ; especially as their interest at the bottom is
very inconsiderable, extending little fartlier than the individual confederates.
These men are become in a more particular manner the derision of tlie King's
friends ; since it is found out, tliat they, who never did or durst attempt a
laudable thing for his service whilst danger threatened the Constitution, have
now had hardiness enough to arrogate the merit of every useful action to them-
selves, and to aim at blackening the reputation of the King's General, by whose
conduct and authority alone, we are all satisfied, the torrent of the Rebellion
could possibly have been stopped.

It is no small cause of discontent, to such as served the King faithfully in this
nation, to find, that a Ministry can be so designing, or so far imposed on, as to
quit with the Duke of Argyle ; worthy in himself, but chiefly valuable for his
steady adherence to his Majesty ; moved by a parcel of fictions, contrived and
abetted by certain politicians, who are become a proverb in their country.

Nobody here can forget the fictitious scheme contrived by Gen'. Cadogan in
the beginning of February last ; by which he persuaded tlie Court that it was
then possible to pursue the Rebels into their hills, and obtained orders for that
purpose, of design to have detained the D. of Argyle about that affair. No one
can forget, that the same General, having found means to delay his expedition
till .\pril, undertook it then, without a possibility of success: and every one
still has it fresh in his memorj', that tliis man, having fatigued the troops, and
spent a great deal of money, was necessitated, by a treaty dishonourable to the
Government, to save his own shame, in making articles with a puny Highland

Chief, G ; inconsiderable in every other respect, than as he was a malicious

Rebel, and famous for obtaining Conditions of the British General, which after-
wards were ratified by a formal Remission ; and the King's friends *iU loug
remember, that this pardoned Rebel was lately in tliis town, a very forward
man of Council with the Squadrone in all their meetings.

This instance of the Court being imposed on, by the knot of men now men-
tioned, to grant a remission to the worthlessest rogue living, is no small mortifi-
cation to the lovers of the Constitution ; and it receives a good deal of addition
from what is at present adoing ; viz. a distinction, that every prisoner who was
taken in action, or surrendered himself to the King's mercy, in the hands of the
D. of Argyle, is ordered to be transported to England to be tried ; whereas those
who surrendered to any of the party aforesaid, are almost all left at home ; and
if any one goes alongst witli the rest, it is of design that he may escape for
want of evidence ; as in the case of M'Kenzie of Fraserdale, in whose behalf the
D. of Athol, to whom he surrendered, undertakes to prove, that he was forced
into the Rebellion, tho' he actually marched at the head of 300 men to Perth.

4:56 ■ THE HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

It is scarce supposaDle, that a ministry could do a thing more lawless or mors
injudicious, than to commit the care of public management, at a time so critical
as this is, to men so much the derision, and at the same time so much the aver-
sion, of their Country, as tliose to whom the charge is committed in Scotland.

Now, Sir, do you judge if it is for the honour or interest of the King, or his
ministry, at a time wlien the Nation is (I must say) in a just ferment, to entrust
the public concern to such managers, especially when the kingdom is yet at a
loss how to account for the disgrace of that man, whom they lately accounted,
under the King, their bulwark against Popery and tyranny.

By what I have said in the onset. Sir, you may guess I will not rest satisfied
singly with having transmitted this to you. I must know something of your
sentiments about it. I'm resolved to wait till the 20th of September ; and if
in the London Gazette, before that date, I see nothing advertised concerning
a letter dated and signed as this is, you may trust to it, I shall complain of it
in such a manner, as you sliall have no reason to be satisfied.

I am.

Sir,

Your humble Servant,

CtiHoden Pnpers. No. LXXXIl.p. 61.

Y. Z.

No. V.

Memoir dispersed over Europe by the Chevalier de St George in his own
vindication in reference to his u-ife's separation.

Ro.ME, November 13, 1725.

It has been tlie constant practice of the King's enemies to project measures
for sowing divisions and misunderstandings amongst those who are thoroughly
fixed in their loyalty to His Majesty and are most capable to serve him, and
by the means of those who still pretended to adhere to it, to draw him by spe-
cious appearances into steps against his honour and the good of his service.

His Majesty had reason to think that, by tlie prudent measures he had taken,
he would not have been much troubled for the future by such contrivances ; but
these days past have afforded but too strong and too publick an instance of the
contrairy.

It is some time since the King suspected that his enemies and pretended
friends, finding that they could not impose upon His Majesty, were endeavour-
ing by malicious insinuations to animate the Queen against His Majesty's most
faithful servants, and particularly against him who had the greatest share in his
confidence and affairs, in hopes, no doubt, by that means to compass what they
dispair'd of beitig able to come at by any other ; and they so far succeeded, that
for some time past tlie Queen could not conceal her dislike to such persons,
and the King could easily see that her behaviour towards himself was alter'd,
altho' he could not discover any real ground for either one or t'other. His
Majesty was therefor willing to impute them to ill oflSces and humour, which
he hop'd would pass with a little time and patience on his part, and therefore
he did not make any change in his conduct towards the Queen, who, ever since
her marriage, had been entirely mistress of his purse, such as it is in his bad
circumstances. His Majesty also continued to her the same liberty she had
always cnjoy'd, of going out and coming home when she pleased, of seeing wliat

APPENDIX. 437

company slie liked best, ana of corresponding with whom she thougth fit ; and
to encourage her, diverting and amusing herself more than had liitherto appear'd
agreeable to her inclinations.

In tliis state of things the King could not but be astonislied to the last de-
gree when he was told by one much in the Queen's confidence, that if he did
not dismiss the earl of Inverness from his service she would retire into a con-
vent, altlio' slie did not give any reason for so extraordinary a proposal and re-
solution ; and on Friday last tlie Queen told tlie King herself that she was
resolved to retire, but still without bringing any reasons for it, and has seemed
to persist ever since in this resolution, tho' without coming to the execution,
altho' on the Friday she had actually taken leave of some ladys here on that
account.

The King could not but be sensible of the indignity done him by this pub-
lick way of proceeding ; but as he was perswaded the Queen had been misled
and might be reclaim'd, he had much more compassion for her having thus ex-
posed herself than resentment against the unjust eclat she had made, and there-
for not only continued to live with her as usual, but invited her in the most
moving terms to own her error and return to her duty, neither of which slie has
yet done, but it is to be hoped she soon will, by the prudent and moderate
measures the King is taking in order to reclaim her.

The King really thought all this while that Lord Inverness was the chief
object of these designs, for tho' her majesty's great and publick uneasyness had
begun on her first being acquainted with the Princes being to be taken out of
Mrs Sheldon's hands, yet her majesty had expressed hei-self to severall persons
favourably of Lord Dunbar, and had never mentioned to the King the least dis-
like or disapprobation of that lords being governour to the prince, which made
it appear the more extraordinary to his majesty, when in a conversation he had
on Monday last with a person of great worth and consideration of this place,
(who he knew had been endeavouring to prevail on her majesty not to do both
the king and herself the injury of retiring into a convent,) he found that she
was, if possible, more uneasy on Lord Dunbar's account than on Lord Inver-
ness's, under pretence that the princes religion was in danger while he had the
care of them, and that her majesty was perswaded that tliose two lords were ob-
noxious to his English friends, and that their being about his person was one of
the greatest obstacles to his restoration.

As Lord Inverness was extremely afflicted at the Queen's behaviour on this
occasion, and to think that he might be represented as the unfortunate, tho'
innocent occasion of a disunion betwixt their majesties, he did most earnestly
intreat of the King that he would allow him to retire from business, which no-
thing but his majesty's orders to the contrary in the most peremptory manner,
could have prevented ; his majesty having at the same time assured both Lord
Dunbar and him that their remaining in his service under circumstances so very
disagreeable, was the strongest instance they could possibly give him of their
inviolable attachment to his person and cause.

All these facts and circumstances put together, it is very easy to see that in
all these matters the Queen must have been originally imposed upon, and guided,
not by turbulent and factious friends, but by real enemies, who would have drove
the King to that extremity, as either to see his wife abandon him, or by yield-
ing to her unjust demands, give up the management of- his children and his af-
fairs, and put himself into the hands, not of the Queen, but of those who, it was
manifest, had in their view the ruin of both.

The King is sensible how prejudicial to his interest this unfortunate eclat

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

must be, but lie is perswaded that the malice of liis enemies on tliis occasiou
must turn against tliemselves when the true state of tile question is known

No. VI.

Letter from the Chevalier de St Georcje to Younij LucJiicl, ad<lresseJ ti.
Mr Johnstone, junior.

April IMh, 1727.

I AM glad of this occasion to let you know how well pleased I am to hear of
the care you take to follow your father's and uncle's example in their loyalty to
me ; and I doubt not of your endeavours to maintain the true spirit in the clan.
Allan is now with me, and I am always glad to have some of my brave High-
landers about me, whom 1 value as they deserve. You will deliver the inclosed
to its address, and doubt not of my particular regard for you, which, I am per-
suaded, you will always deserve.

James R.
You will tell Mr Maclaclilan tluit I am verv sensible of his zeal for mv service

No. VII.

Letter from Allan Cameron to his nephew, Young Lochiel.

Albano, OctolxT 3, 1 7l:9.
Deau Nephew,

Yours of September 11th came to my hand in due time,
which I took upon me to shew his majesty, who not only was pleased to say
that you wrote with a great deal of zeal and good sense, but was so gracious and
good as to write you a letter with his own hand, herewith sent you, wherein
he gives full and ample powers to treat with such of his friends in Scotland as
you think are safe to be trusted in what concerns his affairs, until an opportu-
nity offers for executing any reasonable project towards a happy restoration,
which they cannot expect to know until matters be entirely ripe for execution,
and of which they will be acquainted directly from himself; and therefore what-
ever they have to say at any time either by you, by the power given by the
King's letter, or by any other person, the account is to be sent to his majesty
directly, and not to any second hand, as the King has wrote to you in his letter
Dear nephew, now that his majesty has honoured you with such a commission,
and gracious letter concerning yourself and family, and that he has conceived
so good an opinion of your good sense and prudence, I hope this, your first ap-
pearance, by the King's authority, will answer the trust he has been pleased to
put in your loyalty, zeal, and good conduct, of which I have no reason to fear
or doubt, considering the step you have already made. By executing this com-
mission with prudence and caution, depend on it you have an opportunity of
serving the King to good purpose, which in time will redound to tlie prosperity
of your friends and family. I need say no more on this head, since you will see
by the King's letter fully tho-occasion you have of serving his majesty, your coun-

AFVEKUIX. 43<J

ny, and yourself. But as I am afraid you will have difficulty to read it, his
hand not being easy to those who are not well acquainted with it, the substance
of it is, that he will not let you go without shewing you how sensible he is ot
your zeal and affection to his interest and service ; that Scotland, in general,
when it is in his power, (lioping that happy time will one day come,) shall reap
the fruits of the constant loyalty of his friends there; that you represent to
them to keep themselves in readiness, not knowing how soon there may be oc-
casion for their service ; but that they take special care not to give a handle to
the present government to ruin tliem, by exposing themselves to its fury by an
unreasonable or imprudent action ; for that they shall have his majesty's orders
directly when it is proper : and recommends entire union among youreelves in
general : and towards the end of the letter he is pleased to make yourself and
family particular promises of his favour, when it please God he is restored; and
while he is abroad, all that is in his power. I hope this hint of the meaning of
the letter will enable you, by taking some pains, to read it through. It being
wrote in the King's own hand, there was no occasion for signing it.

I think it proper you should write to the King by the first post after you re-
ceive this letter. I need not advise you what to say in answer to such a gra-
cious letter from your King, only let it not be very long. Declare your duty
and readiness to execute his majesty's commands on all occasions, and your sense
of the honour he has been pleased to do you in giving you such a commission.
I am not to chuse words for you, because I am sure you can express yourself
in a dutiful and discreet manner without any help. Your are to write. Sir, on
a large margin, and to end, 30ur most faithl'ul and obedient subject and servant ;
and to address it. To the King, and no more, which inclose to me sealed. I
pray send me the copy of it on a paper inclosed, with any other thing that you
do not think fit or needful the King should see in your letter to me : because
I will shew your letter in answer to this, wherein you may say that you will be
mindful of all I wrote to you, and what else you think fit.

This letter is so long that I must take the occasion of the next post to write
you concerning my own family : but the King, as well as Mr Hay, bid me as-
sure you that your fother should never be in any more straits, as long as he, the
King, lived ; and that he would take care from time to time to remit him, as
that I hope you may be pretty easy as to that point.

1 must tell you, that what you touched on in your letter to me of the 14tli
.August concerning those you saw there live so well, beyond what they could
have done at home, they must have been provided for some other way than out
of the King's pocket ; and depend on it, some others have thought themselves
obliged to supply them.

You are to assure yourself and others that the King has determined to make
Scotland happy, and the clans in particular, when it pleases God to restore him.
This is consistent with my certain knowledge. You are only to touch upon
this in a discreet way, and to a very few discreet persons; but all these matters
I leave to your own good sense and prudence, for you may be sure there arc
people who will give account of your behaviour after you return home ; but
I hope none will be able to do it to your disadvantage. Keep always to the
truth in what you inform the King, and that will stand ; though even on the
truth itself you are to put the handsomest gloss you can on some occasions.

You are to keep on good terms with Glengary, and all other neighbours, and
let by-gones be by-gones, as long as they continue firm to the King's interest;
let no private animosity take place, but see to gain them with courtesy and
good management, which I hope will give you an opportunity to make a figure

440 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

amongst them ; not but you are to tell the truth, if any of them fail in theii
duty to the King or country.

As to Lovat, pray be always on your guard, but not so as to lose him ; on
the contrary, you may say that the King trusts a great deal to the resolution
he has taken to serve him, and expects he will continue in that resolution.
But, dear nephew, you know very well that he must give true and real proof ot
his sincerity, by performance, before he can be entirely reckoned on, after the
part he has acted. This I say to yourself, and therefore you must deal with
liim very dexterously ; and I must leave it to your own judgment what lengths to
go with him, since you know he has always been a man whose chief view was
his own interest. It is true he wishes our family well ; and I doubt not he
would wish the King restored, which is his interest, if he has the grace to have a
hand in it after what he has done. So, upon the whole, I know not what ad-
vice to give you, as to letting him know that the King wrote you such a letter
as you have ; but, in general, you are to make the best of him you can, but still
be on your guard, for it is not good to put too much in his power before the
time of executing a good design. The King knows very well how useful he
can be if sincere, which I have represented as fully as was necessary.

This letter is of such bulk, that I have inclosed the King's letter under cover
with another letter addressed for your father. a3 I will not take leave of you
till next post. I add only that I am entir y yours,

A. Cameron.

No. VIII.

Letter from the Chevalier de St George to one of his adherents in Scotland

Marcli \ltli, I74S.

I RECEIVED, a few days ago, yours of the 18th February, and am far from
disapproving your coming into France at this time. Tlie settling a correspond-
ence betwixt us on this side of the sea and our friends in Scotland, may be of
consequence in tliis juncture. I hope you will have concerted some safe method
for that effect with Lord Semple before you leave him ; and that once deter-
mined, you will, I think, have done very well to return home, where you may
be of more use than abroad. I shall say nothing here of what is passing in
France, of which you will have been informed by Lord Semple; and you may
be well assured that I shall neglect nothing that depends on me to induce the
French to assist us, as it is reasonable to hope they will, if there be a genera)
war. But if they ever undertake any thing in my favour, I shall, to be sure,
have some little warning of it before ; but that may be so short that I foar it
will be impossible that General Keith can come in time to Scotland, how mucli
soever both I, and, I am persuaded, he himself also desires it; because you will
easily see that one of his rank and distinction cannot well quit the service he
is in either abruptly or upon an uncertainty. I remark all you say on that
subject; and when the time comes, it shall be my care to dispose all such
matters as much as in me lies for what I may then think the real good of my
service, and the satisfaction of my friends, — for in such particulars it is scarce
possible to take proper resolutions before the time of execution. 1 had, sonic
time ago, a projiosal made to me in relation to the seizing of Stirling castle.
What I then heard, and what you now say on that subject, is so ftcneral, thai

APPENDIX. 441

I think it is not impossible but that the two proposals may be found onginallj
one and the same project. I wish, therefore, you would enter a little more into
particulars, that I may be the better able to determine what directions to send.
As to what is represented about the vassals, I suppose what you mean is the
same as what I have inserted in the draught of a declaration for Scotland I liave
long ago had by me, viz., that tlie vassals of those who should appear against
my forces on a landing, should be freed of their vassalage, and hold their lands
immediately of tlie crown, provided such vassals should declare for me, and
join heartily in my cause. As this is my intention, I allow my friends to make
such prudent use of it as they may think lit. Uefore you get this you will
probably have received what was wrote to you from hence about the Scutch epis-
copal clerg)', so that I need say nothing on tliat subject here, more than that
I hope the steps taken by me will give satisfaction, and promote union in
that body. It is a great comfort to me to see the gentlemen of the concert Su
zealous, so united, and so frank in all tliat relates to my service ; and I desire
you will say all tliat is kind to tlieni in my name. I remarked you have ad-
vanced .£100 of your money for Sir J. E., whicli I take very well of you ; but
1 must desire you will not give me any more proofs of that kind of your good
will towards me : and as for what is past, I look upon it as a personal debt,
and shall take care that it be repaid. I remark what vou say about the diffi-
culty there is of raising money. I foresaw tliat wo;:ld be no easy matter, and
I think it should not be insisted upon. I think 1 have now taken notice of
all that required any answer, in what you wrote to me and Morgan ; and shall
add notliing further liere, but to assure you of the continuance of my good
opinion of you, and tliat your prudent and zealous endeavours to forwasd my
service sliall never be forgot by me.

No. IX.

Answer to some Queries sent by the Chevalier de St George, or bi, somi
persons in his interest, to an adherent in Scotland.

Edineukgh, Jan. 8th, 1736.

A.NswER I. — The leading men amongst tlie loyalists are much diminished ,
and the severity of the times obliging most people to disguise tlieir sentiments,
it is hard, at this juncture, to make any condescendence who would make aii
appearance upon a proper opportunity ; nor can that easily be penetrated into,
except bj' a man of approven zeal and integrity, vested witli a public charac-
ter for that purpose.

Tlie country [larty, that makes such a bustle, have probably very little loy
ally joined to their discontent, most of them being people of avowed opposite
principles; and though the miserable situation of the country, both at home
and abroad, ought to have produced a change, and roused the ancient spirit o(
liberty, yet that it has done it, is uncertain ; therefore the safest conclusion,
though not perhaps the most just, is, that they want more to change the min-
ister than the master.

II. — It is to be presumed that most of those concerned in the last rebellion,
being almost superannuated, would rather wish well to than engage again iu
the cause.

III. — The most leading men, and most esteemed amongst the clans tliat 1
know of, are Sir Alexander Macdon^ild and Cameron of Locliiel.

II. S K

442

HISTOKY OF THE HIGHLANDS

IV Tlie young Highlanders do not know tlie use of arms as well as tlie

old; but they bear a deep resentment against the authors of such a great dif
ference between them and their forefathers.

V. — The Cameronians are very well armed, and regularly regimented amongst
themselves ; but then they are so giddy and inconstant that tbey cannot be
depended upon, not knowing what they would be at, only they are strongly
enraged against tlie present government.

VI. — A native seems preferable to a foreign commander; but to name the
I'orson would be abundantly too presumptuous for any one in my sphere.

The originals of the four preceding papers were in the possession of
Cameron of Fassefern, Lochiel's nephew, and it is supposed are still
in the possession of the family. They form the first four Nos. o."" the
Appendix to Home's History of the Rebellion.

• No. X.

Letter. — The Chevalier de St Georrje to Drummond uf Bochaldy.

Rome, 29(A .Von. 1714.
I HOPE the letter I wrote to you in May last for your friend'sf perusal is long
before this come safe to his hands, and that it will have given him satisfaction-
What I have now to say to you for his use also chiefly regards some certain
gentlemen who are his friends, and you will readily guess who I mean under
that denomination. It is true those gentlemen have not been hitherto looked
upon ,as well wishers of mine ; but I have at the same time observed with plea-
sure, for this long while, that they have constantly opposed the measures of the
government, and endeavoured to pursue such as they thought tended to the
good of our country. I am sensible that many of tlicm are men of great talents,
probity, and experience ; that they are capable of forming great projects, and
pursuing them with vigour, unanimity, and secrecy ; and wliatever may have
been formerly their opinion, I should naturally think that what is now passing
in Europe, and particularly in Britain, should demonstrate to them that their
doing speedy justice to nie and my family is the only means left to save the
nation from utter ruin and destruction. Tlie present state of affairs abroad
affords no improbable nor remote prospect of some foreign powers espousing
vigorously the support of my cause ; and I have a very great number of friends,
already in the island, who woulti, I am persuaded, concur heartily in all mea-
sures which tend to the recovery of my just rights ; but you know, at the same
time, how much I would prefer the having my restoration accomplished by my
subjects alone, and I should not despair of seeing it brought about in that man-
ner, if your friend, and his friends, entered heartily into measures for that effect.
What I said in the letter above mentioned, should, I think, be sufficient to re-
move all fears and jealousies they may have in regard to me ; and as for them-
selves, they may be well assured of my acknowledging in the most grateful man-
ner the services they may render me. I look upon myself to be a common

* This ami the following Numbers are taken from the original documents themselves,
or from the original draughts or copies among the Stuart Papers, in the possession uf
his Majesty, for the use of the present work. The copies taken from the originals are
distinguished by an asterisk.

f yit Erskine uf Grange.

APPENDIX. 44a

(athn to all my subjects, and shall never make any distinction of names oi
parties, but endeavour to provide for tlie general welfare and safety of them all,
and make no otlier distinction amongst tliem, but sucli as merit and services
may deserve and authorize. You will easily see tliat I cannot enter into further
particulars in this letter ; but when you communicate it to your friend, and
discourse on the contents of it with him, you will assure him in tlie strongest
manner, that if lie and liis friends answer the good opinion 1 have of them,
and enter seriowsly and heartily into measures for bringing about niy restora-
tion, tliat there is no reasonable demand they can make, either in belialf of them-
selves in particular, or of our country in general, tliat I shall not readily and
cheerfully comply with. [The preceding is in the liandwriting of Edgar, the
Chevalier's private secretary ; what follows is in James's own hand.] I shall
expect witli impatience an account from )ou of wliat may pass betwixt you and
your friend in consequence of this letter, to which I have nothing further to
add, but my best wishes that safety and success may attend you botli in your
endeavours to serve me.

No. XI.

T/ie Letter, of which tkefort(joing is a copy, was inclosed in n private Letzei
from the Chevalier to Drummond of the following tenor.

In consequence of Lord Sempil's, and your letters to me of tlie 3tli and 6th,
and of what I wrote last post to Lord Scmpil, you will find inclosed a lettei
apart written in my own hand. I take extreme kindly of you, and as a par-
ticular mark of your zeal, the offer you make me of going over at this time into
England, and I willingly accept the offer, because I consider it as what may be
• of great importance to my cause to give the discontented whigs an opportunity,
especially at this juncture. IMy letter apart, and what I writ in my last letter.
will afford you ample matter of discourse with Mr Erskine on that head, and, if
those gentlemen are capable of ever becoming friends to my cause, I should
think the present position of affairs at home and abroad, and the assurances
given in my two last letters, should remove all their doubts, and induce them
to act for it without delay. You will say, in particular, all that is kind and
encouraging from me to Mr Erskine, who will, I am persuaded, do what he can
to serve me on the occasion. The first and general object, in this affair, is the
gaining of those gentlemen. If we fail in it, we are but where wt were, and
we risque nothing in the tryal. If they hearken to us, we must proceed with
them with proper caution, and according to the overtures they make; and in
case they express a sincere desire of contributing to my restoration, and own an
impossibility of its being compassed without foreign assistance ; in that case it
may be proposed to them to make application for it to Cardinal Fleury, for that
is not a proposal to he made, but to persons who have sincerely my restoration
at heart ; and, I am persuaded, that should such application be made by them, it
would absolutely determine the Cardinal's resolution. When you have received
this packet, you will be thinking, I suppose, of going to London to meet Mr
Erskine. 1 can give you no precise directions as to the time of your staying
there, nor any particular instructions as to your negociations with him. You
see the object, and nothing must be neglected to attain it. My own letters
sufficiently explain my sentiments, so that your chief business must be, to be
well informed of the sentiments of those persons ; and then to make a faithful

444 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

and exact report ot all to me as soon as you can do it with safety, it is possi
ble, you may, on this occasion, hear discourses, or have proposals made to yon,
which j'on may think in some measure extravagant, or even injurious to me;
but you may, on such occasions, moderate the warmth of your zeal, and say
nothing which may rebute or hinder people from speaking freely ; and after that
hide nothing from me, because, if we do not draw from this negociation all the
advantage we hope for, it may be always of use, and perhaps of great use to be
informed of the party's real dispositions and way of tliinking. What I take to
be of importance in this negociation, in all events, is the secrecy of it. There
is no use of its being known to any in Scotland, and it might be of very ill con-
sequence were it even suspected by other persons in England than those im-
mediately concerned ; and you will, at the same time, be particularly cautious
not to put any of my old friends in England or Scotland in the power of those
we now hope to gain. You will receive from Lord Sempil 2000 livres for your
journey ; and I dont remember I have any thing further to add at present on
these subjects. I make no doubt but that you will do your best to serve me on
this important occasion, by which you will gain a new and very great merit
with me, whatever may be the success of your eudeavours.

• No. XII.

Letter from Lord John Dnimmond, under the signature of "J. Donald-
son" to James Edgar, Esq., private Secretary to the Chevalier de St
George.

Paris, 2d Feb. 174S.
SiB, — I receiv'd somme d.ivs ago the letter you favour'd me with, and no-
thing can be more agreable to me the goodness with which His Majesty is plcas'd
to inform me by you of the continuation of that Koyal Protection, which I
owne is the thing in the world I am the vainest of.

It gives me great satisfaction that tlie affair of the Sc [Scots] clergy is

finished, and I der say it will tourn to the advantage of the King's interest in
that country.

As to the Dukes Highland clothes, it vexes me very much that His Royal
Highness cannot get them this Carnaval. It is Mr Walker's fault : Some time
ago, most of the things directed to him were sent to St Denis ; but he con-
ceived the difficulty so great of getting them to Paris, that he sent them all back
to Boulogne, from whence they will come again by the first occasion.

I receiv'd yesterday the letter, here inclosed, from Lord W , by which, it

is verj- p'.aine, he has understood me ; but according to what I had writ to him,
he should have come directly himself; may be because of the C indisposi-
tion, or for some other reason, he has been afraid of alteration, and is desirous
of a second positive invitation, which I sent him by the last post, in consert with
Mr O'brien, to whom I show'd bis letter.

I have found the little Pituers, [pictures] Abbe Grant was in paine about
Mr Waters had sent them to liis neveu, to whom I have since thought ol
inquiring about them.

I liave not yet seen C. T ,* who am more than can be expressed.

Sir.
Your most humble and obedient servant,

i. DONALDSON.
• Cardinal Tencin.

APPENDIX. 445

• No. XIII.

Letter referred to in the foregoing.

To the Ri^lit Honourable Loril John Drummoml.

My Lonu, — Wlienyour Lordship demanded tiie sum of money, I am indebt-
ed to you lait, I had laid myself out to raise it for you, but was disappointed ;
but thinking that your Lordship might have occasion for it, and likewise to
make matters more easy to myself, 1 inquired for a friend, and am now pretty
well assured of a sufficient sum to answer your demand. I shall be glad to
know when your Lordship will have it paid, and to whom, or if you are to re-
ceive it yourself.

Your Lordship's most affectionate and obedient humble servant,

WEMYSS.

No. XIV.

Tlie earl of Wemyss appears from tlie following letter to have gone to ttie
Continent, in consequence, it would seem, of the invitation from Lord John
Drur.imond. The original letter, which is in James's own hand-writing, is in-
closed in an envelope addressed E. W. with a flying seal attached to it. It is
probable that it was sent to Colonel O'Bryan, who was James's minister at
Paris at the time, and that it was returned to him, in consequence of the earl's
departure from France.

Albano, June llth, 1743.

I JUST learn your being arrived on this side of the sea, and not knowing how
long you may remain in France, I wont delay expressing to you how much I
am touched with tliis mark of your zeal in this critical juncture: what comes
from you cannot but make deep impression, and I am very sure you will neglect
nothing which may depend on you to forward my interest, where I suppose tliis
will find you. I shall never constrain my friends in the choice of their confi-
dants, but as I understand L — d J — n has directed you to Mr Obryen, as it
was natural for him to do, it is fit I should let you know that you will be very
safe in his hands, and that nobody is more capable than he to give you such
lights as may make your present journey of real service to me. Till I hear
from you 1 shall not enter into any business here, and only add the assurances
of most sincere value and kindness for you.

JAMES R.

When you see your son, with whom I am acquainted, and whom I esteem,
make him very kind compliments from me. I hope the time is not far off, in
which I may be able to give you and your family distinguished marks of my
fa .our

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND!).

• No. XV.

Letter from Lord John Drummond, under the signature of " J. Doiic.ld-
son," to Secretary Edgar, reflecting on the conduct of Drwmnond uf
Bochuldij.

Pahis, 2Srt Feb., 1743.

Sir, — I send you here inclosed, a letter I received two days ago from

L''. M , which wants no explanation : he has not desired me to send it, and

is above making complents. At the same time, I must speak of a thing I should
have mentioned sooner, had it not been for a sort of petitess, of which I am
now much ashamed. It was afear to be suspected of jelusy, and of what of all
things I was resolved to avoid faling into little quarrels about an affair where
union is so necessary. What I have to say, you will easily imagine is against

B ,* who is my L"". S 'sf principal intelligencer in Sc .J At his

first coming oiver, 1 knew not how B got himself emploied by other people,

but my brother by telling there was a positive order his going to France, when

my B sayd he intended to weigh till he had an answer by me. Soon afti'r,

he camme back to Sc as ambassador from the K , where he saw two or

three people, and retourned Plenipotentiary for the whole nation, settled as
such at Paris, where under a suposed name, J tho known to every (one) for a
misterious incognito, he was to apear on proper occasions. At that time, if
affairs had gone on, I dar say more than what he had promised would have
tourned out, and ther would have been no inconveniency ; but the continuation
of it has been of ill consequence for the country, wher, before I retourned, all
this was tolerably well known, and in several occasions I was obliged to take
his part, and did it so much as if he had been of (my) own chousing, and that
we had been in very good understanding, whereas, I have not seen him since
he is a negociator. Most of the K(ing's) friends I meet within S(cotland) speak
against him, and desired most positively that I should inform the K(ing) from
them, that B(oehaldy) having alwise been in low life, he trayd several different
Trades without success, and obliged to fiay the country in danger of being taken
up for a Fifty pound note, he had now for a recourse taken the management of
the K(ing's) affairs. All this little and low scandal I would not have men-
tioned, but think myself obliged now to a general confession.

After having said all I could in his defence, I told them that the K(ing) was
obliged to receive all those that were sent with messages, and in the most pi-u-
dential manner mead a proper use of them. They insisted that what little
good he might have done was strongly balanced by the handle it has given to

the K(ing's) enemies, to turn his affairs into ridicule : at first the Cover : P

said they would take up B(ochaldy) as soon as he retourned — a little while after
it was given out that far from that they war very well pleased he was imploied,
since it showd what his M(ajcsty's) affairs war reduced to — after that they gave
to understand that they fournished him with money. You cannot imagine how
such storys spread and frighten in a country where they know nothing. As I
am persuaded of your prudence and depend upon your friendship, of this long
libell communicate to the K(ing) only what you think proper. But what I
would most humbly propose, is, that all we petty politicians should be entirely

• Bochaldy. •(• Lord Sempil's. \ ScotlanJ.
§ Drummond in bis correspondence first assumed the name ol" Jit; Cunningham, whii-h
hfi afterwards changed to Watson.

I

APPENDIX. 4i7

layd aside, who will do more Iiarme than good, and now that my L(ord) M^aris-
clial) is so well in the way, he should be ordered to settle a correspondence witli
S(colland,) or at least have the name of it, for tho L(ord) S(cmpil) by his words
and letters seems to pretend tlier ar great things a-bruing in !?(cotland,) I do not
believe it, nor can be till it commes to an essuntiall undertaking. By my L(ord)
M(arischal) apearing immediatly imploied, would give such a credit to affairs in
S(cotland,) as would be above all suspition from his M(ajesty's) friends, and all
aspersion from his enemies. It would bring in several people that will deal with
nobodj- else, and pout things in such a channel, as when real business comes, it
should go on without any manner of inconveniency.

I have the honor to be,

Sir,

Your most humble and obedient servant,

J. DONALDSON.*

No. XVI.

Answer to the foregoing Lf tier, from the original draught, corrected liy the
Chevalier de St George himself

Rome, March 2 1 sf, 1743.
My Lord, — I received, last week, j'our Lordship's, of the 25th February
with one inclosed in it, which I here return to you. It has long been a subject
of no small concern to me, and even to the King himself, to see so little union
and harmony among those who wished him well, and were even employed in
his affairs; but that is an evil which can only be remedied by the persons them-
selves, and towards which his Majesty can give little assistance. His Majesty
has made it a rule to himself, never to impose any body on the confidence of
those who have their all at stake, nor to refuse on t'other side hearing and con-
tiding, in as much as is requisite, those who may be employed by them, keeping
the whole in his own breast, without imparling to one set of friends what may
come from anotlver, except with their consent, or in cases of necessity : he wil
be thus better informed of what relates to his own interest, by the encourage-
ment it must give to his friends, to open their minds freely to him, while they
themselves cannot but be pleased with his condescension towards them, and the
caution and secrecy observed in what relates to them. So that while his Ma-
jesty alone knows the whole, it is impossible for others to form a riglit judgment
on matters they are in reality ignorant of; and H. M. thinks it a less evil to
let people talk as you say they do, and even find fault at random, than to put
into too many hands secrets and particulars which he thinks himself obliged in

• The Clievalier de St George, writing to Lord Drummond on 22d Dec, 1744, in
answer to a letter from his Lordsbip of 22d October, not to be found among the Stuart
Papers, thus deprecates the dissensions among his friends in France. " In the mean,
time, for God's sake, let us stifle as much as possible all little views and animosities.
Let us have nothing in view but the common good, and let every one join heart and
hand to promote it in our different capacities. This will be tho most effectual way to
encourage foreign powers to assist us, and to animate our friends at home to act their
part also." — Stuart papers.

448 HiSTOHI OF THE IIIOHLANDS.

liouour not to disclose. Enfin, your Lordship may be perfectly at ease on tlie
subject of tile greatest part of your letter. I am heartily sorry there should be
any coldness betwixt Lord Marischal and Lord Sempil. There was, I know,
formerly a great intimacy betwixt them. I am well acquainted with the great
esteem and attachment Lord Sempil had for Lord Marisclial, and I think I
could answer for Lord Sempil, that he is noways altered towards him. If after
this. Lord Sempil has writ any tiling that displeases Lord Marischal, it has, 1
am persuaded, proceeded from a pardonable, but perhaps unjust solicitude, to
keep up their former friendship, and noways out of want of true regard and
concern for Lord Marischal, for wliom I know the King has the greatest value,
and botli lias and will take all occasions of showing it.

As I think it my duty to communicate to H. M. all that comes to my hand^
any ways relating to his affairs, I laid your letter before him, and had his orders
to make you this reply, which, when you have considered, you will find it answers
all your letter, and H. M. also orders me to add here his kind compliments, and
how truly sensible he is of your zeal for his service.

1 am, &c.

No. XVII.

•' Copy of my Lord Marischal's Letter to Lord John Drummond, the ori-
ginal returned to Lord John, 2\st March, 1743." This quotation on the
copy IS in Edgar's hand-writing.

Boulogne, Feb. \2th, 1743.

I HAVE the honor of your obliging letter, and beg you do me the justice to be
well assured of my sincere esteem, friendship, and attachment. I think I see
in you an Uncle whom I loved and respected for his great honor, and a Brother
who is dear to me, for you are like both. Let us give over compliments, and
when we write to other, shorten as much as we can our letters, for neither of
us love scribbling. I must tell you I have had three days ago a pretty odd one
from Lord Sempil. There are two points in it which I must tell you. One
that his Lordship is pleased to tell me, that my not having sent by him a mes-
sage to certain folks in Scotland, and not having learned from him wliat I already
know from the King, may mak^ tliem tliink tliat I have little curiosity on a
subject, which, above all others, they have most at heart, and that I slight them,
and that the measures they have taken, tho' they have omitted nothing on their
part, to prove the esteem they have of me. To this accusation or threatening
of his Lordship, for I think it looks like both, I have answered, that he may
remember that I told him in Paris the King had done me the honor to inform
me fully of the affair, and to which his Lordship could add nothing: and that I
did flatter myself, that notwithstanding his Lordship's kind fears, people would
Btill do me justice to believe that I have more tlian bare curiosity, on a subject
where the interest of my King and country is so nearly concerned, (not to speak
of my own,) where I see a noble spirit, and where I am sensible a great deal of
honour is done me, and I add, that I still hope those gentlemen will do me the
honour and justice to believe that I shall never fail eitlier in my duty to my
King and country, my gratitude to them for their good opinion, or in my best
endeavours to serve.

The next point of his letter I shall trouble you with is, concerning my being
liere. 1 shall give you his words, not being so long as his other chaoter. He

APPENDIX. 449

says tliat my being Here has already made a great noise amongst the Kings sub-
jects on this side of the water, and adds, " I can't but own to your Lordship,
that as surmises are easily spread, so I fear your bciitij so near the coast, at
ifiis time, may occasion some speculations on t'other side also, which would
both raise the jealousy of the government and the terrors of our friends, who
are but too susceptible of alarms." The meaning of this to be that his Lord-
ship will try ways and means to oblige me to remove, for reasons known to
himself.

Yours, adieu.

• No. XVIII.

Lady Sandwich to the Chevalier de St George, without date, but quoted
" Received May iith, 174,3."

Sib, — My heart is penetrated with gratitude and joy, to lind that I still have
the honour to remaine in the remembrance of my sovcrain. I can with truth
profess that the earlycst, as well as the strongest, affection of my mind, ever
since I have been capable of reason, lias been your Majesty's prosperity and
happiness, and 'tis that alone, Sir, I am very well convinced, can prevent the
ruin of a country that is dear to me, but which I will never inhabit till it is
under your government and protection. Permit me. Sir, humbly to offer my
unbounded duty to your Majestyes servise, and as wisdom can often produce
something usefull out of the weakest subjects, perhaps I should gain some
strength, if your Majesty honoured me with the smallest of his commands. 1
cannot refrain from expressing the great satisfaction I have in my acquaintance
with Lord i^emple; his sagacity, penetration, and integrity, are imployed, in
your Majestyes servise, with so much vigilance and prudence, that I cannot
make a better wish, than that all who have the honour to be imployed in your
Majestyes affaires, may be indowed with such qualityes as he possesses ; and
that success may attend upon all your desires, is the perpetual prayer of

Your Majestyes

Most obedient subject and servant,

E. SANDWICIL

No. XIX.

The answer.

Rome, M.nj 15(/i, 1743.

My sincere value for you makes acceptalile all tliat comes from you, and in
particular the hearty letter you now write to me. I want, I can assure you, no
new expressions to convince me of the sincerity of your zeal and affection for
my present cause, tho' I much desire occasions of shewing you how truly sensi-
ble I am of them. It will be always a satisfaction to me to know that Lonl
Sempil, or any others concerned in my affairs, should have a share in the esteem
of so good a judge as you. 1 remark, you have no thoughts of returning as yet,
to a country not less dear to me than to you ; but I hope we shall meet there
one day, tho' in all places my sincere kindness will always attend you.

II Si.

450

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

No. XX.

Letter. — The Chevalier de St Gtorge, to the Duke of Ormond.

Rome, Dec. •ISd, 1743.
I REALLY cannot tell myself when this may be dehvcred to you, because yuu
will receive it only at the time when all is ready for the execution of the enter-
prize. The King of France is resolved to undertake in my favour. His Ma-
jesty required so great and strict a secret in the affair, that I was not at liberty
to mention any thing of it to you before. He will take care you should have
all proper lights and instructions, and I have only time to tell you that the affair
has been concerted with people in England, and that your old friends have a
great share in it ; and I hope you yourself will be in a condition to perform
that great part whicli I have all along designed for you. You have already by
you a Commission of Regency, in virtue of wliich you will act, untiU such time
as tlie Prince may joyn the expedition, and then you will remain General under
him ; for it is absolutely impossible for me to joyn the expedition at first, and I
cannot even be sure whether the prince will be able to arrive in time. When-
ever he does, you will, to be sure, be of all the help and assistance to him that
l3es in your power ; and before his arrival, as I conclude, that you will, in all
matters of importance, act with the counsel and advice of some of our principal
friends. I must particularly recommend to you, for that efft-ct, the following
persons, viz', (the names which follow are in the Chevalier's own hand, in the
original copy,) — The Duke of Beaufort, tlie Earls of Barrymore and Oiicry, Sir
Watkin Williams Wynne, Sir John Hind Cotton, and Sir Robert Abd)-, and
also the Earl of Westmoreland, and Lord Cobliam. It will be, I think, proper
when it is time, that you. Lord Derwentwater, and any otliers in France, wliose
presence and assistance you may judge to be of use, that tliey attend or follow
vou into England.

No. XXI.

A Letter was written to Lord .Marischal of same date, and in almost the
same terms. It concludes thus.

I CAN give you no other directions, but to follow those of H. M. C. M. who
mtends to send you into Scotland with some small assistance, to back and sup-
port the expedition in England. I doubt not of the zeal and alacrity with
which you will perform your part on that great occasion ; and when you arrive
in Scotland, you vpill take upon j'ou the command wliich has been so long de-
signed for you, according to the commission of General you have lying by you.
When you arrive tlierc, yo<i will, 1 am sure, act to the utmost of your power
for tlie good of my service ; and as you will, doubtlessly, act by the advice and
assistance of some of our principal friends, I recommend to you, in particular,
for that effect, the Duke of Perth, the Lord Lovat, Sir James Campbell of
Auchinbreak, and Mr Cameron of Lochyel, younger, for the Highlands, and
the Earl of Traquair, and the Earl of Aberdeen, if he should joyn, for the Low-
lands.

APPENDIX. 451

•No. XXII.

TO Onil tlNlVtKSITIES or OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE, OIIEETINO.

JAMES R.

As you have particularly suffered, and been discountenanced under an usurp-
ed and unjust tJovernment, we cannot doubt of the satisfaction you will receive
from the attempt we are now going to make.

We herewith send you a copy of our Gracious Declaration to all our loving
subjects on this occasion, by which you will plainly see how different our senti-
ments arc, from what our enemies have maliciously represented them to be.

We are sensible, you are the chief ornament and support of the Church of
England ; and, by the promise we have made to protect, support, and maintain
it, we shall consider oureelves as particularly engaged to favour and protect you
in all your rights and privileges, and we shall be ever ready to extend and
enlarge them on proper occasions.

You cannot but be sensible, that the disposal of the First Fruits and Tenths
for tlie benefit of the poorer clergy, had its rise from a former promise of oiu-
own, which may be an earnest to you of our favorable dispositions towards you
and the wliole body of the clergy.

We are thoroughly convinced, how much the solid learning of your two
famous bodies contributes to the support of the (iovernment, and honor of the
nation ; and we shall be always ready to concur with you in your constant en-
deavours to suppress the present general corruption of manners, and spirit of
irreligion, equally destructive to Church and State.

The manifold motives, we shall have to give you constant proofs of our esteem
and affection, and the certain prospect you have of being happy under our Go.
vernment, will, we are persuaded, induce you to contribute as far as in you lyes,
to the success of this enterprise, by your example, authority, preaching, and
prayers, since nothing can be more suitable, nor so honourable for persons of
your profession as to promote so great a work of justice, and to provide so
effectually fur the publick peace and tranquillity ; and in the meantime we re-
commend you to the divine protection. Given at our Court at Rome, the SSd
day of December, 1743. In tlie 43d year of our reign.

J. K.

No. XXIII.

Extracts from the Letters of correspondence, between the Chevalier de St
George and Mr Seinpil, his agent at Paris, from January to June, 1743,
both inclusive.

Note. — The extracts from Sempil's letters are from the originals among the
Stuart papers ; those from the Chevalier's, are taken from tlie original copies
in the same collection.

From the Chevalier, \st and 5th January.
The only good things they [letters] contain were the accounts you had from
England : it is a great point that there is no alteration there. I wish I were
sure it was the same with the Court of France : but, I own, I begin to liave

452 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

my tears and jealousies as to tliem, and I see you are not without tliem either j
but still I dont really see how they can patch up a peace this winter, and as
long as tliere is war we shall always have reason to hope well. It is very true
that I have been all along against an expedition upon Scotland alone, or rather,
in general, against any faint attempt, th" consequences of which might be more
fatal to the cause than the not attempting any thing at all ; neither do I see, why
the French should not be able to transport the same number of troops into
England, as they might be willing to send into Scotland. But still as they are
masters to act in those matters as they please, did they actually refuse to de-
bark troops into England, but were willing to debark a competent number in
Scotland, I should be sorry that any thing I said or did could authorise an
absolute refusal of such a proposal; for should peace be concluded without any
thing being undertaken in our favour, it is easy to see what would be the con-
sequences. But really in my present situation, at this distance, it is impossible
for me to form a judgment of what should or should not be accepted of All
I can say is, that in general, no rash project should be pursued, especially con-
sidering the present disposition and situation of affairs in Brittain, which may
afford us a favoral)le prospect ere long, independant of foreign assistance, while,
at the same time, that same disposition and situation of our country ma)' en-
courage us now to accept of a smaller assistance, than would otherways be
advisable. Enfin, as matters now stand, I think it is better to risque too much
than too little, if the medium account be fallen again, and what depends upon a
number of lights and circumstances, of which those on the spot can only judge :
It is the Prince, therefore, who must decide for himself, and for us all in the pre-
sent case. He had, to be sure, good reasons for making you del.iy for some
days, renewing your application on these great affairs to the Court of France,
and the agitation, I am afraid, the Court was in at that time, was not certainly
a favorable moment to solicit business of any kind, much less an affair of that
importance ; but to be sure, long before this, they will have heard and consider-
ed all that relates to us, and probably have taken their resolutions in those
respects. God grant they may have been good ones. I shall be expecting
them, every post, with impatience

From Senipil^ — ith Jtvmart/,
The account of Credon's* behaviour will surprise you, as indeed it has done
mo, who have been witness of it for seme time past : he is the boldest adven-
turer I ever yet knew or heard of. But I have not now time to entertain you
on such an extraordinary subject : there seems to be a spirit of giddiness which
has seized a number of [here follows some cyphers] : it is a great comfort, amidst
such dissentions, to find that our friends in Bourdeaux t have preserved their
Eenses.

From the Chevalier, — Idth January.
I RECEIVED, several weeks ago, several letters from M'. de Mezieres, but writ
in so extraordinary a style that I could not in any decency, so much as acknow
ledge the receipt of them. I see you are no more in her good graces, and as for
the I'rince, he writes of them in a manner which 1 own raised my bile ; but she
is a mad woman, and not to be minded : what vexes me is, that I lind Father
Cruise was going into England, in the beginning of November last, in conse-
quence of a message from Carte ;J and I own this last, and the Lady's itch to

• Sir Thomas Sheridiu. f Su!.i«.scm1 K. mean Kiijjland. j Thu Ili.-Kjrian.

APPENDIX. 453

meddle in politics, without 1 fear proper caution or prudence, and 1 am sure,
without my authority, may be of ill consequence, altlio' what I kuow of their
dealings is very superficial and general. 1 thought it was proper you should
be informed of this much, and that 1 had no share in these transactions. You
have taken up yours, to be sure, long before this, and 1 shall be both anxious
and impatient to know the success of them ; for surely the French Court must
come to some resolution as to our affairs.

From l/ie Chevalier, — 2d Feh)-uary.
Balhady's accounts from England are very comfortable. I am sorry there
should beany interruption in the correspondence with Scotland ; but I dont take
that to be of such consequence at this time, since it is what relates to England
that will chiefly determine the resolutions of the French Court. The great and
unforeseen event of the Emperor's • death, must alter all their schemes and pro-
jects : it should naturally facilitate a peace, but at the same time it puts it more
in their power to make a vigorous attempt in our favor, and to deprive the
House of Austria of their greatest support ; and if they have a generous and
right way of thinking, even for themselves, one may hope they should be desir-
ous to make such a tryal, before they enter into pacific measures : a few weeks
will, probably, now show what they will do. In tlie meantime, I perceive the
Prince was going into the country. I understand, the Court of France had
rather he had gone to Avignon ; but he is much in the right not to quit his hold
as long as he can, tho' the truth is they use him scandalously ; but as long as
there is war we may still have hopes for tlie great affiiir, and, therefore, we must
submit to any thing, rather than do what niiglit look like abandoning our object.
I am much pleased to find you were going to reassume again your negotia-
tions ; for which, after all the great afiairs which have passed through your
hands, I really dont see you want credentials at present from any of us. The
continuation of your correspondence with our friends in Britain is what will
always give you access to the ministers, and weigh with them ; and, I am per-
suaded, you will be more considered by them, as being employed by my friends,
than if you were more immediately by me. You cannot wonder at Cardinal
Tencin's being much offended at you, for he has too much penetration not to
see that our English friends could never have taken so false a step, as that of
excluding him from their secret, if they had not been led into it ; for had the
reserve come from the King of France himself, he had, undoubtedly, rather sent
him to his Bishoprick, than have kept him in his council without his confi-
dence. After this, how great the Cardinal's credit is with the King, is more
than I can say, but, if he has little, who has more ? for it is certainly our busi-
ness to apply to those who may most effectually serve us, whoever they may be.

From the Chevalier, — 'i3rf February.
The King of France having approved of my employing Mr O'bryen, as for
merly, at his Court, I now write to Marquis d'.\rgenson, to introduce you to
him, and you will find here also a letter to the same minister with a flying seal
for you to deliver to him. Yon may remember that I writ such letters, for-
merly, to introduce both of you to Mr d'Amelot, so that what is now done is
pursuing the same scheme, which, I know, is agreeable to the King of France.
The letter I now send you answers, I think, pretty fully what you seemed to
di^ire in that respect, tho' after that the access and credit you will have at the

• Cliarlos the Seventh.

45-t HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS

Court of France will always be proportioned to the informations you can givo
ttiem from our friends in Britain, and I am always more and more convinced,
that the more you are considered as their man the more your negotiations will

meet with weight and success In the meantime it grieves me

to see so much jealousy, and so little union amongst all our people, — that is
indeed a great drawback to the success of our affairs, and an evil which, 1 am
sensible, I caimot remedj', especially now that it is become almost universal ;
but I can, at least, by my silence, not promote it ; for though it is fit I sliould
know every thing, yet I shall carefully avoid giving credit to all I hear, or en-
tering in these tracasseries.

From the Chevalier, — 2rf March.

I AM, with reason, very anxious as to what relates to the security of our Cor-
respondent of the Post-office, botli on his own account, and because of the bad
consequences it would be to be deprived of that channel of correspondence ;
but I will still hope the best, till [ see clearer into the bottom of this affair, be-
cause I don't think there is reason to fear there could be any treachery in the
case, and there could be no room for indiscretion ; but in so far as particulars
relating to that correspondence may hdve been known to others, of whcih last
you can judge better than I, but even that may be without either treachery or
indiscretion. The Government may have taken such steps and precautions as
may give a just motive of jealousy to the person concerned, an.' make him think
they know more than they really do. I hope a few weeks n v will shew me
clearly what we may have to expect from the French for this season ; but I own
at the same time, my hopes are not very great, because, I think, comparing all
circumstances together, that the Frencli had not that forwardness you .erned to
think some time ago, in relation to my affairs. Civil words and expressions
cost little, and I am affrayed, instead of growing colder now, they were never
so warm as you thought them, and I am persuaded we have lost nothing but
the interruption of your solicitations, tho' I am heartily glad they are re-assumed,
and I am sure you will not slacken in tlieni, whatever may be the conduct of
others ; but you must neither of you drive things too far, and you should not be
displeased at my having a better opinion of you all, than you seem to have of
one another. I remark, that I may expect, next post, a sort of appendix to
Balhady's letter.

From the Chevalier, — 8M March.
What has happened in relation to our English correspondence is very unlucky,
especially at this time. ... I easily feel the advantage of Balhady's going
over in this juncture, as well as the dangers and inconveniences of such a motion,
as to which Balhady will, to be sure, have taken his resolution before you re-
ceive this Li the meantime, I am glad to find you have still good

hopes, tho' I own I don't see on what they are giounded, more than on the
present posture of French affairs, and the good disposition in which you suppose
the King of France to be in towards us ; and therefore it is our business, cer-
tainly, to acquiesce in all particulars, to what may be his inclination and desire,
tho' I own, at the same time, that 1 cannot see a good reason of this incognito
of the Princes, but for that there is no remedy at present. I wish he were, at
least in the meantime, free from the uneasiness he cannot but receive from the
continual jarrings amongst ourselves ; and in which I neither see end nor remedy,
neither can there be any as long as every one, without either a proper suborili-

I APPENDIX. 463

nation or a due bearing of one another's failings, without which nothing bui
enmities and confusion can ensue, while ourselves and our affairs become a
sacrilice to envy, and private views pursued with so much passion and blindness,
1 as not to see that by ruining us and our affairs, they make it yet more impossi-
ble that those very passions should be satisfied, they are so violent to gratify.
But too much on this disagreeable subject, which affects me too much, and on
which it is very useless for me to enlar^'e.

From the ChcfaUer,— \Qth March.

I AM very glad to understand that there appears to be some hopes of the
Knglish correspondence being renewed, the' the interruption of it is still a mis-
fortune. Pray God all these people going backward and forward betwixt Bri-
tain and France, and with so little secrecy, may not be some time or another of
very bad consequence ; but neither the Prince nor I can answer for other peo-
ple's indiscretion, or even totally prevent them, tho' we may too probably suffer

by them I own 1 have no great opinion of the manner in which

business is carried on in the Court of France, and much fear that such a system
cannot well produce great projects, without there were a good head and a steady
hand to direct all those ministers who have power enough to distress one ano-
ther, tho' not probably to do all they please, even in their own departments.
.... I own my hopes of your speedy success are not at present very great.
It is to be hoped they will at least allow the Prince to make a campaign ; and
really it would be something very extraordinary, as well as hard upon us, if they
did not.

Front SsmpH, — 15(A March.

Your observation regarding the influence of the King's friends in England
and Scotland, is but too just ; for tho' the French Court, and most particularly
the King, have a respect for your royal person and character, yet would hardly
determine to enter into measures with j'our Majesty, unless they were sure of
the concurrence of your faithful subjects in Great Britain. In tlie present situ-
ation it was necessary to prove that there is a perfect understanding between
your Majesty and your faitliful subjects, and that you approved of the persons
trusted by them, which your letter (that of 3d Feb.) effectually does in relation
to me, and is more than sufficient to confute all the pitiful notions that have
been suggested.

The Duke of Perth's messenger, whom I mentioned in my last, being unwill-
ing to return without something, and getting no satisfaction from Sir Thomas
Sheridan, to whom the Prince referred him, came at last to Balhady and me,
and imparted to us the true object of his journey, which was found to be very
important ; and as Balhady, who has been a long time acquainted with him,
answers for his honour and probity, so I thought fit to introduce him to the
Minister, to whom 1 shewed the importance of the Castle of Edinburgh, with
the artillery, arms, and ammunition, that are in it. Tlie Minister was greatly
pleased, and having made his request to the King, told Mr Blair in his name,
that his Majesty was glad to find such remarkable instances of the zeal of your
Majesty's good subjects, especially of the Scots — that he apprehended he could
not now spare troops for an expedition beyond sea — that sucli an enterprize
ought to have been proposed three months ago, when he could have raised
more troops and taken proper measures for it, but that he would still consider
what he could do, and hoped the summer would not pass without proofs of his
reg.)rd for the justice of the King's cause, and the confidence your faithful sub-

456

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAN'DS.

jc'cts reposed in him. Mr Blair promised to apprize of all this the Prince; foi
tlio' liis Uoyal Highness lias been near a month in town, neither Balhady nor 1
have been allowed the honour of kissing his hand till tliis day, when I received
a message from Balhady, importing that Captain Stuart of the Royal Scoti
having accidentally met witli Sir Thomas, the last had desired him (Stuart) to
find us out, and let us know from him, that the Prince who intended to go out
of town, as to-morrow, desired our company to-day at dinner. Balhady's mes-
senger arrived here (Versailles) too late for me to get to town at the time ap-
pointed, and I have an engagement this evening at seven o'clock, to converse
with the Minister, both which circumstances I prayed Balhady to apprize the
Prince of, and hope he wi]l pardon my absence.

From Sempil, — ^2d March.

There is a state of getting an expedition secretly resolved upon, and pre-
pared as part of the scheme of the campaign, but I insist on their fixing it for
the month of May. I know not as yet whether or no it will be possible to get
it determined for the time I propose, because the minister of the war lias all in
readiness for a siege of importance in Flanders, which the King of France longs
to undertake : if it is blended with the operations of the campaign, I shall fear
some unlucky accident may postpone it as last year. ... As to our private
correspondent, it is certain that the Government have been informed of our
correspondence through a Banker in Holland, witli one Smart, upon which
very strict injunctions were given, and all means used to intercept our letters.
I told you that I could not suspect any body of direct treachery in this case,
but sure I am that there has been indiscretion.

Sir Hector Maclean has communicated to me several of the King's and Mr
Edgar's lettei-s, by which I find his Majesty is very desirous to prevent the bad
consequences of his being deprived of his rank, that was promised him by Lord
John Drummond, upon an agreement between them that was approved of bj
his Majesty. Tho' I always wav'd meddling in this aliair, yet it now stands in
such a light, that the respect due to our Sovereign, and the good of his service,
require the Knight should be supported in his claim. I am sorry to find Lord
John's behaviour has been altogether unworthy of his name and family: he has
all along pretended that the French Minister made difiiculty to make Sir Hector
Lieutenant Colonel, because he had never before served in the army, whereas
the contrary is notorious here.

From the Chevalier, — iSt/ March.
The private correspondent having sent a man over with the letters Balhady
transcribes, is a great proof of his zeal, and a mark, I would hope, of his being
easier as to his own situation. I remark with pleasure what is said of the gen-
tlemen lately entered into the Government service.* I hope they are sincere
in what is now said in their name ; but the Court of France will not, I believe,
be disposed to think so favorably of them as [ do, and will probably insist on
having further light and satisfaction before they act themselves ; and, I think 1
plainly see, that there is nothing in our power which can really give them full
satisfaction, if they still insist on certain previous steps before an expedition,
and that they will never do any thing for us at all, without they take a gener-

t

' The letter of 1st March, to which this is an answer, does not appear to be amon
the Stuart papers. James here alludes to'the coalition or " broad bottom'' ministry, o
wliich tho earl of Chesterfield, Lord Cobham, and Sir John Iljnd Cotton were members

APPENDIX. 457

ous, and, 1 really dont think, a rasn resolution to proceed on the lights the;
already have, and what is publick to all tlie world, the present universal disposi-
tion of the nation. I think tlieir insisting on more, is no mark of tlieir having
a great inclination to act for us ; for, after all, their risking 8, or 10,000 men
cannot bo such an object to them. A battle or a siege often costs more, and I
believe their loss in Piedmont last year, was much more considerable. Hut
with all this it is still our business to represent and solicit, and at least to do
our part to determine them to what is even in reality for their own interest ;
and, at same time, nothing ought to be neglected towards inducing them to
allow the Prince to make a campaign : all motives concur to make both him

and I earnestly wish he may obtain leave for that effect 1 remark

what Balhady says of our friends not caring to trust a priest, who was lately ni
England. This mu~t mean Father Cruise who is lately returned from thence,
and has been of late very busy with the Court of France, as well as M". de
Wezieres. I wish no harm may come from their negotiations, tho' 1 own I ex-
pect no good from tliem, and 1 have let the Father know that I can neither
approve nor authorise negotiations, into which I don't see quite clear. 1 hope
and believe the French court will be cautious in what they may do on the
Father's representations, without they know more of those affairs than I do ;
for by what I know or can observe hitherto, I believe there are no people of a
certain weight and consideration in England concerned in them, but Colonel
Cecil, witli Carte, and Mrs Ogletliorp.

From the Chevalier, — 'iOth March.
I AM sorry to remark the subjects of uneasiness you explain in it, (letter ol
Bth March,*) and on which I shall write to the Prince in a manner of which 1
hope you will feel the good effects. You will do well to write freely to ine on
such subjects, and I shall endeavour to make the best use of the lights you give
me, tho' you must not expect that I should much enlarge on such matters with
you ; for tho' I am the Prince's father, and that he is a most dutiful and affection-
ate son, yet, in my present situation, it is for our mutual interest and service
that I myself should on many occasions carry myself in what relates to him
in some measure as I wish my subjects carryed towards me.

From Sempil, — oth April.

The minister told me yesterday that it would be impossible to get troops for
our expedition before the opening of the campaign, or even during the first
operations of it. However, be desires I may converse fully with his brother
upon the matter, and they will consider together what can be done. I have
accordingly attended the minister of war these days past, but his hurry is such
that he cannot give me a proper opportunity.

The duke of Beaufort's death is a great loss to your majesty ; but I am per-
suaded nothing will shake the firmness of your surviving friends. . . . Your
majesty has a right notion of the present posture of the French ministry, who
are all jealous of each other, and, on that account, more circumspect and timor-
ous in pressing even the affairs of their own respective departments, than they
would otherwise be.

From the Chevalier, — 6th April.
1 RCMAKK what is said of the pereon lately from Scotland. (Vide Sempil'a

• Not in the collection. Seethe letter of the Che\alier to the Prince of 30th March,
No. XXXI. which explains the cause of diPa^reenient.
II. , 3 M

458 HISTORY OF THE HIRHLANDS.

letter of 15th Marcli.) You did well to carry him to M. D'Argenson, for such
messages are still of some encouragement The Prince had al-
ready writ to me about the article of tlie broad-swords, upon wliich I thiiil;
Balliady reasons very justly: after that in general, as I have writ to the Prince.
I am absolutely unable at tliis time to be at such sort of expenses, — and even
Tnuch smaller ones than that, which would be of more concern to me, were I not
persuaded that the French court on one side, and our friends in England on
t'other, will not allow the cause to be starved, if they are really zealous and
hearty in it ; and if tliey are not, any small expenses I might be to forward it
would signify nothing.

From Sempil, — ]-2t!i April.

YoDR majesty judges perfectly right as to a certain priest, (Cruise,; and those
in relation with M". de Mezieres. Neither Cecil nor Carte, tlio' authorisec"
by Lord Marischal, Smith, and probably the duke of Orniond, have been able
to acquire any degree of trust among dealers of a certain weight and considera-
tion. Drummond had last year a list of 38 persons, most of them very honest,
wlio seemed to be deluded by these people's singular assurance, but Walker
found it of no manner of consequence to undeceive them. On the contrary, it
was best to allow them to go on, because both Sir R. W'alpole and Lord Islay
were apprised of all their motions, and seemed to believe the King had no other
correspondents.

From the Clievalier, — \Sth April.

1 AM persuaded you have done, and will do your best, to determine the court
of France to an expedition in our favor, and to hasten the execution of it. But
I own, I dont see any particular motive to hope for your succeeding, more than
the general posture of affairs at this time, and what is so manifestly the interest
of France : for after that, as long as there is a war, the ministers to be sure will
always give you good words, and there may be many plans and projects made
for an expedition, without these ever being executed ; so that for all you suc-
ceeded so well the last time, I shall not easily flatter myself of your succeeding
again another time so well, tho' I shall not, either, let myself be too much dis-
couraged by what 1 may hear from other people, since nobody can form a judg-
ment of what they may be ignorant of. It is always good I should be informed
of every thing, but except what you may think proper to write to me or Edgar
on the subject of our unhappy tracassaries, the less these matters are stirred in
or talked of the better; and yet 1 see with concern that everybody will be cri-
ticising and meddling in matters which are none of their business, and on which
they cannot form a judgment, by which they certainly do a real and great pre-
judice to the cause, which every body may hurt by their indiscretion, but few
can forward by tlieir immediate assistance. \\ hat occasions my saying this at
present is, what I have had occasion to know lately of a certain Lady Chft'ord,
who has been some time in France. I know not whether you are acquainted
with her. I suppos.e she is sincere in the zeal she pretends to liave for us, but
by what I can remark of her turn and spirit, she is an intriguing woman, cap-
able of doing a great deal of hurt with a good intention. It is true, I wish
much Sir Hector Maclean were made lieutenant-colonel to Lord John Druni-
mond's new regiment, and I have done what I could to assist him in his pretei>-
sions for that effect, but I mudi fear I shall not succeed.

APPENDIX. -trti*

From Sempil, — \Sth April.
I iitiNK myself obliged to inform your majesty tliat Sir Thomas Sheridan
always possessed his (the Prince's) mind, and tliut your majesty never had the
Prince's confidence so much as that man, who, I fear I am too well assured,
has even now the conlidence of all your majesty writes to the Prince, and con-
certs with him wliat H. R. H. is to write to your majesty, tho' lie makes the
Prince to do it in his own style and manner.

From the same, — '2J<A April.

Is the meantime, it is a most feasible affliction that the King of France will
not consent to the Prince's going to the army. The ministers all seem to wish
it ; tlie four secretaries of state even promised to give tlieir opinions for it, but
their opinions have not been asked ; when Marq\ D'Argenson represented the
motives upon which I urged it.

Sir Thomas Sheridan seems capable to go any lengths, and may find en-
couragement of the most dangerous nature to gratify his ambition if he should
accompany the Prince to England in your majesty's absence. I am sure he
dares not make a direct intimation to the Prince against his duty, and periiaps
is not wicked enough for such an attempt with cool deliberation, but I doubt
his passions are greater than his virtues or his reason, and may prompt him to
lead by degrees the Prince into very unhappy measures, for wiiich Sir Thomas
will find but too many abettors and advisers. Mr Kelly has said some time ago
to his confidents, that in a little time they would see your majesty's friends di-
vided into the King's party and the Prince's party. I write thus freely in obe-
dience to your majesty's commands, and am overjoyed that I am authorised to
do so, which eases me in some measure of a weight that hung the heavier on my
spirits, because 1 could not venture to own it to your majesty. I think I dont
entertain such apprehensions out of suspicion to Sir Thomas. I find severals
who think of him worse than I do, and have imparted their fears to me.

From the Chevalier, — 26<A April.
I HAVE no answer from Spain about the Duke's campaign,* and I find the
Prince has little or no hopes of obtaining leave for himself to go to the field, for
he did not, I suppose, then know what you now mention to me on the subject.
. . . . I see with sorrgw that the Prince still remains at Fitz-James. As
for our great affairs, he cannot certainly hope that any thing should be under-
taken till after the campaign in Flanders is begun. The right time for an ex-
pedition would, I think, be in the months of August or September, but I will
not flatter myself as to that, tho' I am persuaded you and Balhady will do your
best to bring the French court to some speedy and favorable resolution, tho'. il
no sort of determination is taken before the King of France goes to the army,
1 shall much fear that they take my all'airs little to heart.

From Sempil, — 3d Slay.

Your majesty has great reason to judge, from the present state of the French

ministry, that an expedition will not be compassed this season, and yet, by some

particular circumstances, there was ground to hope it might. I am sure the

King of France inclines it, that Orry and Maurepas favour it, and that the bro-

• James had applied for leave for his fcccml sen to attend a campaign in Italy wiih
the S))ani^h army.

4fifl HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

there D'Argenson consider it as the best foundation for the scheme of greatness
thev have in view. These dispositions, of which I have been long very certain,
and the immediate advantage that must in the present state of tilings accrue to
the French by maliing a reasonable attempt in your majesty's favor, gave not
unreasonable hopes of speedy success. But I have already hinted, in a former
letter, at tlie reason of the delay. The two brothers want to acquire the wliole
merit of the service, which they found they could not do when the King insisted
to have our project examined into, with other schemes of operations ; wlierefore
the minister of war, who has the chief influence with his majesty, got the enter-
prise put off for the present, on pretence that the King of France has otlier im-
mediate and very pressing service for all his troops. Lord Sempil quickly per-
ceived the true motive of this proceeding, but he seemed ignorant of it, and
used all manner of argument, both political and military, for an immediate ex-
pedition. The two brothers could give no tolerable reason for postponuig it,
but as there was no prospect of carrying it without them, so 1 was forced to
acquiesce, which the minister of war especially seems to take kindly, and pro-
mises all liis interest and address to serve your majesty as soon as the necessary
operations of the campaign will permit, that is, as soon as his brother and he
can determine the King of France, without consulting the other ministers. In
the meantime, I think the two brothers really wish the prince were in the army,
b\it the King has expressed himself on that head so strongly, that they protest
they cannot urge it in the present moment lam personally ac-
quainted with Lady Clifford, but have always heard her called a good, tho' a
very weak woman. She is sister to the Dutcliess of Norfolk, and never seemed
to have any expectation of the Restoration, or to take the least concern in it,
till the Prince was public in France, but now she expresses great zeal, and I
hope very sincerely. Her most assiduous visiters during last winter were Mr
Stuart, of Lord John's regiment, and Sir Hector Maclean. She seems to liave
no particularly intimacy or confidence with any others.

I have told the Marq'. d'Argenson that your Majesty's friends in Britain call
for Balhady, and desired to know what the King of France would authorise
IJalhady to say to them, upon which BaUiady and I are going to-morrow by aji-

pointment, to know his Majesty's pleasure After this Balhady

will set out for England with the utmost secrecy, whenever the I'rince is pleased
to honor him with his commands.

We are informed, that on the 25th of last month, one Macnaughton, Mr Mur-
ray's footman, arrived at Boulogne-sur-mer, in a ship from Scotland : this man,
who is entirely trusted by Mr Murray, has brought letters to Charles Smith,
and says he has a packet for the Prince, by which indiscretion he shews how
unworthy he is of the trust reposed in him ; but besides, Mr Blair, who was
lately here, assured us he was a very dangerous fellow,- — that he boasted pub-
licly among those of his own rank, of his master's high character from your ma-
jesty, of his being let into all his master's secrets, and trusted with all his papers ;
as a proof of which, he proffered to give the perusal of all these papers to Mr
Blair's shoemaker, which last offered to put them in Mr Blair's hands. 1 hear
this Macnaughton is soon expected here by Sir Thomas Sheridan, that he calls
himself Douglas, and is treated with great distinction by Mr Smith. 1 shall not
fail to inform the Prince of these circumstances. One can't but wonder at the
spirit of giddiness that seems to have run amongst some people.

From the Chevalier, — 3rf May.
It appe;irs to me pretty plain, that the court of France will not undertake

APPENDIX. 4fil

liny tiling for us till they have farther information from England, and as I be-
lieve it will appear so to you, 1 conclude Balhady will be parted for EnL'land
before this rt-aehcs you.

From the same, — \S>th May.
From what you say of the Prince's campaign, I on n I have lost all hopes ol
his being allowed to make it, altho' the Marquis d'Argenson encouraged you
following the King of France into the field, in hopes of some favorable resolu-
tion being taken there, either as to that or in relation to greater matters. As to
these last, 1 fear we can't expect any determination can be taken without some
furtlier light and information from Kngland ; neither do I see how that can he
got in an authentic and satisfactory manner but by Balbady's going over; and
yet that is a step I am unwilling positively to direct, because of the many dan-
gers and inconveniencies it cannot but be attended with. If Balhady is not
publicly at Paris, I think it might be easy for him to slip away witliout being
missed ; and even in all cases, coidd he not go down to the army with you, from
whence he could pursue his journey for England much more privately and un-
observedly than from Paris ; if he likes the party to go over, I don't see the
use of any body's knowing of it except Marquis d'Argenson and myself, neither
shall I disapprove your keeping that step secret from all others, without excep-

lion I cannot but hope this odd peace of Bavaria may be a spur

to the French to think seriously of my interest ; and perhaps more vigorous
measures may be pureued from the army, where there will not be so manv
counsellors, and by consequence so many intrigues and management.

From the same, — 2ith May.

1 FIND, with satisfaction, that Balhady will soon begin his journey for Eng-
land. Vou may have remarked how much I wished it, tlio' 1 would not take it

absolutely upon me to direct it The peace of Bavaria, and the

great probability there appears to he of the Great Duke's being chosen Em-
peror, should, methinks, in a manner force the French to think seriously of
my interest, as the most effectual way to provide for their own in the present
circumstances. It will have been very necessary to inform the Prince of the
particulars you mention relating to a person lately come from Scotland.

From the same, — \st June.
As long as I have any thing, the cause must not be starved, and that is really
tne present case.* The Prince has scarce bread for himself, and the French
court was not to be applycd to for such an expense ; for tho' they certainly
should not have grudged it, yet I see but too plainly their narrowness as well
as their straits, and even this year I have not received a certain small pension
which was given to the Duke upon his mother's death, and which was always
used to be paid at the beginning of the year Our friends in Eng-
land should consider my present situation, and fall on some method to enable
me upon occasions to serve themselves in reality more than me, and I tliink
that this matter should sooner or later be strongly laid before them ; for if they
sincerely wish my Restoration, and would be willing to venture for it at a pro-
per time, can it be imagined they would not be willing to contribute a trifle on
which the success of all may often depend? I am glad to find that both Bal-

• This letter contained an order for 3000 livres on Waters, the Chevalier's banker al
Paris, in favour of Semjiil, to enable him to follow the French court in Flanders

462

mSTOKY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

hady and you are so well pleased with what the Prince said to yoii, — a prope
subordination of him to me, and of other people to us both, would make every
thing go on better and more easily than it has done for some time past. I be-
lieve the Prince is sensible how much it imports us to be masters iu our own
ati'aii-s, and 1 shall be mistaken if he does not act his part for that effect.

From the same,-^8lh June.
If this victory (of Fontenoy) be of great consequence to the King of France
I do not take it to be of less to my interest, while tlie Elector of Hanover send-
ing more troops out of England, and coming in person out of the kingdom him-
self, are such a continuation of favorable circumstances, as would seem designed
by Providence to determine the King of France to act in my favor, so that 1
own at present I am in great liopes and expectation.

From Sempil, — Mth June.
No imaginable situation will determine the ministers to act for you without u
concert with your friends in England. The general dispositions of your people
make but little impression, wliile the Government appears so peaceful, and
seems to exert the whole strength of your three kingdoms. But the more ter-
rible the Government appears, the more willing the Court of France will
always be to assist your Majesty, provided they are made sure, that a great
body of your subjects at home are ready to act in conjunction wuh them. . .
1 doubt not but the shametui animosities of last winter, wliich disgusted the
King of France and discouraged our friends in Britain, have contributed to lull
the Government into an opinion, that there was notlung to be feared from your
Majesty. It must be upon that conviction that the Duke of Hanover has ven-
tured to come abroad, and to order so many troops to be now brought out of

Britain I have just now the satisfaction to receive a letter

from Balhady with the news of his safe arrival at London, where he had already
seen Lord Traquair, our private correspondent. Lord Barrymore's confidant,
and some others ; he assures me in general, that there is no alteration in the
King's friends, but for the better. Our private correspondent writes a few
lines in Balhady 's letter, promising to correspond as formerly, especially when
he has any thing material to impart. Both this correspondent, Balhady,
Lord Traquair and Blr Barry desire to be put at your Majesty's feet, and
hope you'll be assur'd of their using their utmost endeavours for your service.

From the Chevalier, — same dale.
There cannot be two opinions as to your going to the army, which being on
my account alone, and absolutely necessary for my service, it is but fit I should
be at the expense of it and not you, — the same may be said of Balhady 'a
journey, and therefore on his return, if our friends in England have not de-
frayed it, I shall.

From Sempil, — 2 b? Ju7ie.
The French ministry have not yet got out of the narrow methods prescribed
to them by the poor Cardinal Fleury. The minister of the finances especially
sticks close to the old maxims of saving, tho' he is sensible that they have often
obstructed great affairs, and ruined the most hopeful projects. The King's
friends in England think more justly and generously in that regard, but it is
very dangerous for tliem to raise money, because too many persons must be let
into the secret I iiave had two letters from Balhady in the

APPENDIX. 4C3

course of tins week, and one from our private correspondent, by which the last
promises to write, and to receive, and transmit our letters as formcrlj', beins;
tatisfied witli tlie cliannel thro' which Balhady maiu-s tbcni pass in Holland.
Balhady has conversed fidly with all onr city of London friends, with Mr Erskine,
Lord Traqnair, Lord Barrymore's confidant, our private correspondent, and as
many others as are in town. They all agree that your Majesty has at present
the best opportunity that ever was, and better than can ever again be expected,
to effect your Restoration ; if a small body of troops can be landed, they are
sure you will find no opposition. The Tories who have places under Govern-
ment, are as zealous as ever for your Majesty, and as ready to concur in
the deliverance of their country, as those who have no places : the only difficul-
ty is to prove this disposition, so as to satisfy the King of France to deter-
mine his ministers (the two brothers) to charge themselves with the execution.
Tlie King's friends will not venture to write. Balhady says, the wliigs in the
ministry are so jealous, that a traveller cannot now go about amongst our
friends in the country without suspicion and great danger. Tliere is besides
the difficulty of transporting troops, while the Government is vastly superior at
sea.

From the Chevalier, — 22(/ June.
We cannot know exactly the view the King of France may have in sending
for a great detachment from the Prince of Conti's army, but I take it to be
rather a good sign for us, at least comparing all I know together. I make no man-
ner of doubt, but that the King of France is thinking seriously of our affairs,
and what the result will be, a little time must now soon show us; but I think it
is easy to see that the difficulty of transporting troops into England, will be the
,'hief obstacle to the undertaking an expedition. lam glad to find Balhady
was so far safe on his journey. I hope and believe he will be returned on this
side of the sea, before .Sir Hector Maclean's going to Scotland could possibly
make any noise, which I hope it will not, tho' I wish some other expedient
could have been fallen upon, to keep him and Lord John Drummond at a dis-
tance from one another, which was the chief, if not the only motive of bis going
thither. It is not impossible but you may stumble on Father Cruise some-
where in your travels in Flanders, for I find he was lately in that country after
having been in England. A multiplicity of negotiations may, I fear, rather do
hurt than good in our affairs, but as 1 dont really know nor understand the
bottom of this Father's negotiations as they stand at present, I endeavour to
avoid equally either disgusting or authorising as the safest and prudentest mode
for the good of the cause.

From the same, — 28M June.
I THINK it is lit you should know that I have received some farther lights
about Father Cruise's negotiations, tho' I have not yet heard directly from him

Bince he returned from England I have already had a visit

from the new French ambassador ; he is a man of a very good character, and
I believe wishes me very well, but probably I shall not have much occasion to
treat with him on pnblick matters.

From Sempi!, — fame date.
The Doctor (Drummond of Balhady) writes, that your good old friend Mr
Erskine will soon be preferred to a considerable post in the administration, but
ne accepts it with the view of being enabled by it to serve the King more effeo-

464 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

tiuilly : he desires me to assure his Majesty, that lie will remain in England or
£ro to Scotland, as the King's service shall at any time require.

From the same, — of same date.
I RECEIVED a long letter from Balhady written in concert with Mr Erskine,
Lord Traquair, and Lord Barrymore's cousin and confidant: they represent Mie
Regency in England to be divided, and so diffident of each other, that there is
not so much as the appearance of resolution and harmony, or common pru-
dence in tlieir councils. They say our friends in the administration have
yielded to all the Duke of Hanover desired, with no other view than to preci-
pitate his ruin, in which tliey have in a great measure succeeded, both by ex-
asperating the nation so as to make any revolution desirable, and by giving the
Duke of Hanover such high spirits upon the opinion of his having overcome
all opposition, that he has not only ventured all himself, but has even drawn
almost all the troops out of Britain. They remark that the loss of the battle
in Flanders has enraged the middle and lower ranks of people, from all which
they conclude that there never was, and never can be, such a favourable oppor-
tunity to attempt your Majesty's restoration. They assure that if the Prince
landed in the present circumstances with ten batallions, or even with a smaller
body of troops, there will be no opposition, but, on the contrary, tliat his royal
highness will be received with blessings and acclamations. They affirm this
to be the sentiments of all who observe the present state and disposition of
things, but upon Balliady's informing our friends, that tbe same appearances of
harmony and unanimity which have imposed on tbe Duke of Hanover, have
rendered the real state of things doubtful at the Court of France, and that some
means must be taken to prove to the King of Fiance what we all believe and
know to be true: upon this information of Balhady's they considered the case
with all possible attention, and judged it impossible to bring any stranger into
England at tliis juncture, and to make liim converse with a certain number of
principal persons without raising a suspicion that would deprive j'our Alajesty
of many advantages, and perhaps ruin your affairs: they judged it equally im-
possible to get a sufficient number of the King's friends to subscribe any paper :
wherefore they thought the best and safest expedient would be, to engage our
friends to open themselves to Mareschal de Belleisle, whose letter to his mas-
ter might attest all that his master desired ; this result Balhady transmitted to
me, with an assurance that his friends who have accepted of places as well as
those who have not, are willing to confide in Belleisle, provided I can procure
a letter or token, upon exhibiting of which he shall trust them : before the
King of France went to the army, I had with this- view sounded the two
brothers regarding Belleisle, and found they did not incline he should he em-
ployed in our affairs, because they were ambitious of having the whole merit of
it themselves ; but as the success of the King's affairs must depend on the
proofs in question, so I hope we might profit of Belleisle's situation without
npprising the two brothers of the confidence reposed in him till it should be
necessary to produce his attestation ; reflecting therefore that Belleisle's wife
has the great honour of being the Prince's relation, — that she is a lady of uu-
common abilities, and in the secrect of all her husband's affairs, I resolved tu
ask a token from her that might make Belleisle know our friends. 1 accordinj:-
ly caused her Director, a clergyman of great worth, beg leave for me to wait on
her in private. She said she had been long desirous to be acquainted with me
on account of my attachment to your Majesty, but as she was persuaded thai
all my motions are watched, so she apprehended that iier conversing with rae

APPENDIX. . 465

St present miglit give the government some suspicion, and perhaps induce them
to confine her husbnnd in a way that would be prejudicial to his health. She
added, tliat the same dread of tlie Government's malice obliged lier to deprive
herself of the honor and satisfaction of paying her respects to the Prince, and
desired her Director to tell me that she conceived 1 niiglit have great and grand
views in desiring to converse with her, but tliat her husband had engaged his
honor to the Government so strictly and solemnly, in order to obtain the degree
of liberty he enjoyed, that while he should remain in his present situation he
could not be of any service to your Majesty, tlio' he burns with zeal for the
King's ca\ise, and believes the King's affairs to be in a very promising con-
dition.

This affair detained me till the 26th, when I received another letter from
Balhady, in which he informs me, that Sir Hector Maclean is arrived in Scot-
land, and that upon his arrival Lord Elcho, who had been some time at Lon-
don, was immediately sent for, and set out accordingly, in all haste, for Scot-
land, from whence Mr Erskine, Lord Traquair, and Balhady apprelicnd that
something very weak and rash may be attempted, and that some great misfor-
tune will ensue; they are induced to this apprehension by the part John
Murray has acted since he returned from hence : Murray said that Sir Tliomas
Sheridan had told him that Balhady, in concert with Lord Sempil, had brought
the Prince hither without tlie consent or knowledge of tlie King of France, —
that Balhady had kept his royal highness in his own apartment at Paris, with-
out letting the Court of France know where the Prince was, — that he after-
wards carried the Prince to Gravelines also without the Court's knowledge,
and det^iined him there several weeks in order to engross the Prince to him-
self,— that the said Balhady and Sempil had sent Lord Marischal to Dunkirk,
without money, arms, or any destination of troops for Scotland ; — and lastly,
that while Sir James Campbell was neglected, Balhady had extorted for him-
self a pension of 6000 Livres a-year from your Majesty : all these particulars
Murray declares he had from Sir Thomas Sheridan, to whom the Prince re-
ferred him, adding that he is autliorised by the Prince to apprise the King's
friends in Scotland of them. Lord Traquair and Mr Erskine assure that our
sages, and indeed all men of sense, perceived the malice and absurdity of these
accusations, but that Lord Elcho, Sir James Stewart, and one Mr Nisbet of
Dirleton, all influenced by Lord Marischal and Charles Smith, have joyned
with John Murray in repeating those heads of grievances to all that would
hear them. From this connexion of Murray with Sir Thomas Sheridan, and
Lord Elcho's sudden call upon Sir Hector Maclean's arrival, the three gentle-
men I have named above dread a deal of mischief: they are persuaded Sir
Hector's journey was concerted, or rither directed, by Sir Tliomas, and they
think nothing but a letter from the Prince to Murray can prevent the bad con-
sequences of it ; wherefore they charge me to beg of his royal highness a proper
letter on the occasion, desiring all your Majesty's friends to remain quiet, and
to give no cause of suspicion to the Government until they receive further
orders from your Majesty or himself. The Prince did me the honour to write
to me above ten days ago, that he intended to be in town a few days after,
which made me depend on his coming the beginning of last week ; nevertheless
I wrote to inform him that I was ready to go to Flanders whenever his royal
highness would be pleased to send me his commands, but I have as yet no an-
swer.

No/e — The Cflevalier and Sempil corresponded in cipher. Sempil's letters were i!«-
ciphercd by Secretary Edgar and the reading interlined by him in the originals, beai-
11. 'i N

4i)6 . HISTORY OF

THE HIGHLANDS.

pil assumed the name of Frances Lacy,

and Drummond of Balhady,

who also correa*

ponded in cipher, took the name of Walker and sometimes that o

r Watson. He i«

often called "the Doctor" in the correspo

ndence. A cipher was seldc

m used for proper

names, in stead of which feigned namei were adopted. Thus,

Mr Adams, for

The Kins of France.

Jlr Talniash, —

Prince Chailes.

Foulis —

The Duke of Ormond.

Isham, —

Lord Marischal.

Mr Constable, —

Cardinal Toncin.

Markham, —

The Earl of Islay.

Mr Davit, —

The Chevalier de St Gc

orgc.

Bright, —

The Earl of Traquair.

Norris, —

Sir Rohert Walpole.

Griffith, —

Sir William Watkins W

nne.

Touchet, —

Carte, the Historian. *

Hales, —

Colonel Cecil.

Lumley, —

Sempil.

Watson, or Walker, —

Drummond of BochaUh

Credon, - —

Sir Thomas Sheridan.

Mr Tait, —

Lord John Drummond

Morris, —

Chas. Smith, a Banker i

1 Boulogne.

Trebhy, —

Mr Kelly.

Barclay, —

Murray of Broughton.

Jennings, —

Mr Erskine, of Grange.

Morton, —

Lord Barrymore.

Lister, —

Sir James Campell.

Morison, —

Waters, the Chevalier's

Janker in Parip.

Mr Germain, —

Sir John Hynde Cotton.

*No. XXIV.

The following letter is unsigned, but quoted as from " Mr Carte'' in Sec-
retary Edgar's hand. It bears the post-tnark, and has the following
address.

All Rev. Pere,

Le Blanc, Cordelier,

An Grand Cnuvent des Cordeliers,
A Paris.

LoNDOhf, April 9th, 1745.
Dear Sir,

I WROTE to you on Christmas day a very particular account
of the state of the Tobacco affair, and of what I had reason to think was the best
way of buying that commodity. Still the business in Eden Street is the passes
or license to send ships with it directly to France, in relation to which I told
you, that the passes hitherto granted to ships, to go thither, were not a legal
security against the insolence and rapine of our privateers, and therefore it was
expected an act of Parliament would be brought in, to authorise the Crown to
grant such passes, from time to time. No such act is as yet before the House,
and the Crown would probably be willing its own authority should ser\e with-
out the aid of Parliament, and accordingly, the case has been for some time
under the consideration of the Attorney and Solicitor (jeneral, who are to give
their opinion, as to the legality of such passes from the Crown, or the necessity
of an act to empower them. I have not heard whether they have delivered

• \'ide next Number.

APPENDIX. 407

their opinion, but the resolution must be taken soon, because the Parliament
will rise before the end of this month, a message liaving been sent hist Friday
to the spcalier to hasten tlie dispatch of business before the II. of C, because
K. G. Wiis resolved to be going abroad at the end of the next montli, for wliicii
reason tlie House sate last Saturday and are not to lose a moment, in order to
finish tlicir business.

Since mine above mentioned, I have received one from you, which I answered
immediately, and as you told me in it, that 1 should soon see a friend of mine
here, I was in hopes that friend was yourself, and have ever since expected and
longed to see you : it was this expectation tliat made me defer writing, but, my
patience being at last exliaustcd, I write this to acquaint you, tliat all tlie un-
certainty that prevailed among the merchants you liad to do with, is removed,
and they are come at length to a resolution : all that Monsieur at Paris insisted
on, is agreed to in the best manner that can be ; all that is wanting, is your
presence.and you need not be detained a moment, but shall carry back with
you what he desires ; for otlierwise we know not how to send it, and you have
nothing to do but to settle with liim the manner, and you shall have the con-
ducting of all that he asks, and as it is ordered, he will have even more than he
expects or was ever proposed. As I live in hopes every day of seeing you, 1
need add no more but to recommend expedition, and conclude — 7til mihi res-
cribas, quia ipse veniam. Adieu.

I am ever \ours.

Note, — The above letter appears to have been intended for either Sempil or Drum-
mond, and evidently refers to negotiations with tlie English Jacobites. On receiving
il. Father Le Blanc sent it to a Air Dawkins along witli the following note.

• MONSIECR,

VoiI.-i une lettre qui sans doute vous regarde plutot que moi, puiique
js n'entends pas I'Anglois. J'ai I'lionneur d'etre avec un tres profond respect.
Monsieur,

Votre tres humble et trfes obeisant serviteur,

F. Le Bla.nc.
A Pnris. -Id Slay, 1745.

(Thus addressed)

Monsieur,
Monsieur Dawkins chez Mr

Waters I'aine, Banquiur, rue de I'L'nivorsitfi,
A r..ri3.

• No. XXV.

Letter. — Prince Charles Edward to James Edijar, Esyinre.

Paris, ye \6th Januari/, 1743.

1 HAVE received to of your letters allong with the King's and Duks. 1 am
very glad you have got so good an occasion of sending sumof my things, bit the
would be more agreeable to me iff you had the bringing of them yourself. I
am going in to or three days to my contry bowse, where I will be at full Uberty
to have the spleen. It is now to months I have not handeled a gun, because
of the bad weather and cold, for which I would be called cacciotore di Paii-
biunco by the Duke ifl' he new it, in revenge for my calling him so formerly

408 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

As soon as 1 am arrived at Fitz james I intend to begin again to shute, but no
whin it rens (rains). You see by this that according as one advauses in year
one gets reason. Adieu.

Charles P.

• No. XXVI.

Letter. — The Chevalier de St Georye to the Prince.

Rome, March 1st, 1745.
1 RECEIVED on Thursday last, my dearest Carluccio, yours of tlie 7th Febru-
ary, and one from Sir Thomas of tlie same date. Many kind comphnients to
him for what I may liave to say in return to his letter. I suppose you will have
had soon after you writ the paper you mention, I having directed Kerry* to
give it to you, and I don't believe there was any other mystery in that matter
but simply Kerry's fear that any body else but you should see it, on account of
the names contained in it. But after what I have already said on this subject,
I need add no more on it here, but that I dont remember that Kerry had any
other papers of yours in his hands but that. After this I find Kerry in a very
bad humour, and Morricet not in a good, and it is really a grievous thing to
me to see you all in pieces among yourselves, and that I can do nothing either
to ease you or to serve ourselves, and it is even time and labour lost so much as
to write on those vexatious subjects, for it looks as if almost nobody thought of
any thing but lording it over one another, with little regard and respect for any
thing or any body else. Enfin I see but too plainly that there is no remedy
for certiiin things, which must go as they can, for I fear neither you nor I can
get a remedy to them ; and the worst of all is, that Williams J cannot but re-
mark, more or less, the divisions that are amongst us, and that must greatly dis-
courage them from acting for us. § We shall now probably vejy soon see
what they will really do in that respect, as well as in relation to your making a
campaign. In the meantime, Isham must have patience, and never guit your
hold as long as you can, for as long as the war lasts, we have always room to
hope for assistance from France. As things have fallen out, I am persuaded
that the interruption of L. S.|| negotiations was of no ill consequence ; in re-
spect to G. A. and Morgan being now allowed to act as formerly, must in all
cases still be of some advantage, because we can depend on the information he
gives us. I observe what Sir Thomas says of Frank. O.? now writes to me a
great dale on tliose particular affairs, on which I e.xpect to be further informed
by the next letters, and I shall then write to you upon them. In the mean-
time, 1 much fear the hurt such negociators may do, and I am sure I expect
no good from them, and I have eveii a very indifferent opinion o( Carte's dis-

* Drunimond of Bochaidy. " I should (says the Chevalier to Drummond, in a let-
ter 2Glh January, 1745,) have been angry with yon for not giving up a certain paper lo
the Prince, for really it was a^rainst all rule and very wrong. Ma lo lo compatiseo fur
this time. Lord Sempil can explain to you that Italian expression, which is very signi-
ficant, and should make you easy for what is past, and on receipt of this you wdl send
the said paper to the Prince, who has mentioned this particular here, and who, 1 am
very sure, feels the importance of secrecy in relation to that paper."

+ Sempil. \ The King of France.

§ The words in Italics, in this and the following letters, are in ciphers '.ii Ihc orini-
iittl. The deciphering is interlined in tho Prince's own hand.

I .Sempil. ^ Colonel O'Ei^an.

APPENDIX. 469

cretion, tlio' a very good one of ins loyalty. The Blacaonnei's are still here
but I believe we sliall liave tlicir good company but a very few days longer
Yoiir brotiicr lias made a shift to divert himself a good dale these days past: lie
bad a private comedy and a ball t'other night at Count Mariscolli's, and to-
morrow night be is to end the Carnival with a grand supper at M*. Uolognclli's.
To-night he has at home the 3d and last ball, where I dare not so much as
make my Compazza, for it is a terrible Tramontane, and I have been extremely
troubled these days past with my usual ails. Lord Dumbar is layd up with the
^out. I have nothing to add this Tuesday night but to beseech God to bless
you, and in duty embracing you, my dearest child.

J. K.

* No. XXVII.

Letter. — The same to the same.

Rome, March 8th, 1745.

I RECEIVED on Thursday, my dearest Carluccio, yours of the I-lth Ftbruary,
with one of the same date from Sir Thomas, and have seen what you both wiote
to Edgar, It is certainly fact that the private correspondent in li. has been
frightened, and that that correspondence has been interrupted, but what has
been the original cause of all this I know not, neither has any body presumed
to blame or tax Howel on that occasion with ine. Kerry supposes there may
be some treachery in the case, tho' I am more apt to believe it may merely come
from surmises and jealousies, which have put E. G. on means which havefriglit-
ened the correspondent j but what is really bad anA sure is, that that corres-
pondence is interrupted, whicli is very unlucky at this time especially, but there
Is no help for it. 1 know nothing of any peoples being sent to England and
Scotland and coming from thence, but what Littleton mentions ; but what I see
too much is, that people in general are so full of their little views and politicks,
and are so blinded with them, that it is scarce possible any good can come from
such managements and managers, but to all this I dont see what remedy either
you or I can put, and our great attention now must be to do nothing which may
make things worse, and do harm, and to proceed with great caution with icho-
ecer may happen to come over from E. or S. For let what will be as to
other matters, to speak impartially, the chief branch of our hope at present is
certainly in Morrice's and O's endeavours with F. C, and therefore they must
be borne with, and managed with great care and attention, at least for some
weeks, till we see what turn affairs are like to take at home and abroad.

I am persuaded B. would never encourage Isham's coming privately to Pa-
ris, if he were not ver}- sure Ward would not disapprove of it, and therefore 1
am not sorry on that particular. But in general, I must always recommend to
Jenkins to avoid carefully doing any thing that may disgust Adam, or give an
handle to people to do you any ill offices with him.

The Spanish army is in motion, and General Macdonnel leaves us in a few
clays to go and joyn it. I have yet got no answer from S. about Hicks, nor
cannot have any before the next Spanish courier. The Duke had a great con-
versazione on Saturday for his birth-day, when there was a vast dale of com-
pany, but I could not go there myself on account of my usual ails, tho' I dont
keep the house neither, but I have been but little abroad these days past, the
weather being extremely had.

470 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Tlie 9tti. Having received no further accounts about Frank, &c. directly
from themselves, I can say nothing on those matters till I hear more about them.
Adieu, my dearest Carluccio. I pray God to bless you, and in duty embrace
you.

James R.

Mr Townly having been told that he was not to foUovp the Duke to a cam-
paign, in case he made one, lias desired to return into France, and will, I be-
lieve, set out in a few days. The truth is, I have little reason to be pleased
with either him or Strickland, but provided they keep within proper bounds fot
the future, it is not my intention to give them any mark of displeasure, and I
shall be even glad to befriend them as occasion offers, tho' the less you have to
do with them when in France the better. I shall write more fully to you next
week on this disagreeable subject.

J. R.

• No. XXVIII.

Letter. — The same to the same.

Rome, March I6th, 1745.

The French post only came in last Friday, and brought me my dearest Car-
luccio's letter of the 21st February, and I have also seen what you and Sir
Tliomas wrote to Edgar. I remark what Littleton says about a person coming
from Scotland. I dont see that any thing we can receive from thence just now
can have any influence on the lie. of the F. C , while the jealousies and little
secrets there is amongst our people may be of very ill consequence, and too
much caution and prudence cannot be used in all that relates to messages and
correspondence with our F. at home. I see with pleasure how strictly you
kept the secret of that correspondeHce with E., which is now interrupted ; but
I dont really see the least reason to suspect tliat person's probity, neither was
he trusted witli certain secrets, and, I believe, with little more than the con-
'litmnce ofL.; so that I cannot but think the iiiterrvpt\on of this correspond-
ence a loss, and shall be impatient on all accounts to have it renewed. I be-
lieve Kerry is ashamed of his not giving up the paper you mentioned ; but if
he has not given it to you already, he certainly will, upon what I now write to
lim for I cannot believe he really sent it to Lisbon.* When all these Feasts
are over I hope I shall know something from Worrice as to our own affairs,
but I own I have little hope o/ Williams's f doing G. matters for us this sum-
mer, and Grevil would almost compound to be sure of^o«r>««Aing a campaign,
as to which you will probably know your doom by this time.

Morgan will inform you of what I now write to him in relation to Frank
and Father Cruise; so I must say nothing here on those particulars. 1 also
now write to him (Morgan) a particular about S., of which you will inform S.
when you see him, with my kind compliments, in return to his letter of 20th
February. It was, it is true, quite against my Sistcma to bring his name upon
the tapis in relation to the K.'s nomination, but in the present case, the respect
due to the K. of S. made it unavoidable ; and whatever the Bishop of Henne's
ambition may prompt liim to, I cannot believe the A', of S. himself will do ary

• Trobably meant for London or Edinbnigli. + The King of rrnnre.

APPENDIX. 47]

Uiing to obstruct tlie K.'s views in favour of 5., now that lie is acquainted with
them. Townly parts to-morrow with the French courier, and will, I reckon,
arrive in Paris soon after this ; he has asljed my leave to go and see yon, which
I Imve allowed of, because it is not my intention to gi\-e him any pnhlick mark
of displeasure, tho' it is known more or less that I am not pleased with liim : so
tliat on all accounts, my dear child, it would not be right yon should give him
a certain countenance, nor have any kind of familiarity witli him, tho' I look
upon him to have been more a fool than any thing else. Strickland wont be in
France so soon, because he stays to t;ike the waters of Lucca. But in general
for these two be on your guard, never to give them any countenance, nor to al-
low them to be in any way about you. It is what you owe to your own char-
acter, to your brother, and to me, and this is, I am sure, enough on these sub-
jects to so good a son as you are, for it is impossible to explain certain things by
writing, and tho' I shall tell you all when I may be so happy as to see you, yet
in general I intend to be very silent on these subjects, as the most prudent party,
the most becoming a JNIaster, and the most eli'ectual to knock all these little, but
wicked politicks on the head. (I thank God I am tolerably well, and all yours,
my dearest child, whom 1 beseech God to bless and direct, most tenderly em-
bracing you.

James R.

• No. XXIX.

Letter. — The nui/ie to the same.

ROJIE, March 23(/, 1 745.

I WAS in hopes not to liave been obliged to name Strickland again to you so
4oon. But it is fit you should know that he was this morning with the Duke,
to see, I suppose, what he could draw from him. He pretended to be in grrat
concern for the Dukes being displeased with him ; he disowned having any
share in Townly's operations, and said he was glad I had sent him away from
him : he pretended to have meddled with nothing that related to the Duke for
some years past, but he owned that he had formerly made a complaint of tne
Duke to me ; but he said it was by your express order. The Duke said little,
but when he named you, he let him feel the respect he had for yon, and how
assured he was of your affection. You %vill not perhaps understand all this,
but you may judge by it what odd work we have had hen amongst us, and in
some measure what sort of spirit Strickland is of It is really unconeeiveable with
what malice and violence people have acted against the Duke. Tho' at tlie
same time, the more I see into these matters the less I comprehend them, and
the blacker they look. And I own I am under tlie greatest uneasyncss for feat
Strickland's stories should have made impression upon you. I have no scruple
to say he is an ill man, and conjure of j'ou to forget if possible whatever he may
have said to you on any subject. But still I will, if possible, avoid all eclat,
and I hope I shall compass it. I have said nothing as yet of all these matters
to Lord Dumbar, who has, I fear, been himself too much mixed up with them,
but it is for my purpose to bear with him for the present, and I believe he is
both mortifyed and freighted, so that I hope, for some time at least, he will not
givi! me much trouble.

J.\I>1ES ii.

472 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

•No. XXX.

Letter. — The same to the same.

Rome, March 23, IT-tb.
When I received, my dearest Carluccio, last week your letter of the 28tli
February, I did not expect to have a long one from yoci, and am the more impa-
tient to have another one from you, to know you are well after the fatigue of
diversions. I suppose you will have seen Morrice before you left Paris. You
will have had the paper you wanted from Kerry, and by what he will have in-
formed you, you will see how little reason there is to suspect the probity of the
private E. correspondent. A man tliat acts as he does may certainly be de-
pended upon. I was mighty glad to observe, in one of your former letters, that
you had not mentioned that particular correspondence to any body. In things
of a certain nicety and importance, that is the surest rule, and even a great
means to prevent tracasseries ; but, in matters in which you must act and want
advice, I am persuaded your secrets will be very safe in Littleton's hands, and,
that wliile you have the advantage of knowing his opinion, it will be the same
thing as if you bad confided them to nobody ; for he has, I am sure, too much
discretion and prudence to let other people remark the degree of confidence
you may have in him, and in this shape you will be assisted, and no inconve-
nience can happen. I am in hopes my next letters may bring me something o(
business and about Isham's campaign. In the mean time I have nothing to
say on those articles. I am glad to find O'SuUivan is now with you. When a
gentleman is capable of such detail and drudgery as tliat of family expenses,
you will find it both of ease and advantage to you because you can depend
upon him, and he can act either with more franchezza and less soggezione than
one of an inferior rank, and on all accounts it behoves you much not to outriui
your small income. Marsi will write next week to Sir Thomas, for he reckons
to receive anotlier letter from him about Michel, who shall be paid here or at
Paris as you have a mind. Waters shall have ordere to pay Sir Thomas and
Stafford their arrears and the current for the future, and Marsi shall do the same
here as to Forbes and the footman. As to Francois I leave him to you, and he
deserves you should do something for him. If you make a campaign you could
make him a head groom, or do somctliing of tliat kind for him ; and in all
events, altho' he had wore a livery long, yet I should not think it too much to
make him a valet-de-chambre if you found him fit for it. You are really
obliged to do something for him, but as to the way and manner it is but just
you should decide. I have no manner of news to send you from hence, but
that poor Stellina is dead in I'arto and left 4 puppies behind her. We have
now miglity fine weather which I hope will do me good for a little deafness I have
had for some weeks past ; otherways my health is much as usual. Adieu, my
dearest child. God bless you. I tenderly embrace you.

J AMIS K.

Al-FENSIX. 473

• No. XXXI.

Letter. — The same to the same.

Home, Murch 30lh, 1 745.

t RBCEIVED on WediiesJay last, my dearest Carluccio, yours of tlie 7tli.* It
is a great comfort to me to hear you are in good iiealth. Would to God I liad
as much reason to be easy on other mattci-s. Edgar liad much ado to decyphcr
your letter. Wlien you have much to cyplier you should really make use of
another hand, for that is a drudgery which does not belong to you, and a mis-
take in cyphering may, on many occasions, be of consequence. After that
you want to use no caution or management in your letters to me, for I am sura
you wont write to me what is not, and your age and your want of experience,
as you term it, are even motives for you to write the more freely and fully to
me on all matters, for you may be very sure I shall never expose yourself or
your letters so as to do you any prejudice, but always give the best advice and
all the assistance I can on what you write to me about, and every thing else.

I find Morrice is mortilied for his not having seen you when you were at
Paris, and on account of a letter you should have writ him about his E cypher,
of which I really believe he gave you a full and true copy : neitlier do I see the
use there was for your asking that cypher of him, for that correspondence
being in his liands alone, the cypher could be of no use to you, and I find he
suspects tliere may have been in this particular some fetch of those about you.
You may be sure I am very cautio to avoid putting yon in the wrong with
other people, whatever I may think myself, and I cannot, indeed, judge well of
smaller matters, especially at this distance. But, in general, I cannot but
recommend to you to bear with Kerry and Morrice, and not to disgust them
more than is absolutely necessary, for that is certainly fur our service. It u
true I was formerly uneasy to see botli your person and affairs in their hands
alone, but that is no more the case, and should never be it as to thera ot
any body else, tho' I fear it is what most of our people aim at, and there-
fore you must particularly be on your guard and endeavour to carry towards
all with as equal an hand as possible, acting like Master without giving room to
any set of people to say they have the management of you.

I remarked with pleasure what you say to the Duke about his campaign, but
I am afrayd the grounds of your hopes are not very great, since you say
nothing on that subject to me. Neither have I yet had from Wright the an-
swer about your campaign. Should you make it, there will be an absolute ne-
cessity of your being attended there by some officer of merit and distinction.
I can think of none who appear to me to be proper for that, except Lord Tho-
mond or Lord Tyrconnel, neither do I know whether tlie employments they
have would allow them to attend you without a certain prejudice to them-
selves. You will do well to consult 185 and Morgan on this particular, which is
really of consequence, and nobody can advise you better than tliey as to the
choice of a proper person. I say all this at a venture, in case you should go to
the field; and I own I cannot but hope you will at last, because the more I
think of it the more I think it would be scandalous and monstrous in the
French should they riot allow you to do so.

• None of the letters from the Prince mentioned in this and the foregoing letter?
•ppcar among the Stuart Papers in the possession of his majesty.
II. 3 o

474

HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Nothing can be more commendable, my dear child, than tlie sentiments you
express on occasion of the monej' you took from young Waters. But there in-
deed, your age and want of experience must induce you to let yourself be ad-
vised and directed, as to the right application of such sentiments ; and therefore
I cannot but tell you freely that I am sorry you have given the money in ques-
tion. In our present situation we have no other solid hope for our liestora-
tion but from the F. and the Resolutions of Court : that depend chiefly, if
not solely, in what relate to E. and not to S. You know we can do nothing for
ourselves without a certain number of foreign troops, and whenever France
may think fit to give them, our case becomes theirs, and they will not stand it.
So that I look on the article of the B. S, to be a trifling circumstance as to the
main object, and tliat in general, had we more money tlian we have, it would
not be laying it out prudently to be employing it to uses which are of so dis-
tant, so uncertain, and so small advantage to the cause. If there was really
occasion of our sending a person into E. or S., we must be sure to pay his ex-
penses, and that I hope we shall be always able to do, because such messages
should not, and cannot well happen often, and cost but little. But in general,
I have layd it down as a rule to myself, especially considering my present cir-
cumstances, not to lay out a shilling on such sort of expenses in \.\vi?, juncture.
All these messages from S. end in nothing but costing money either to my
friends or to me, and in fomenting tracasseries and divisions. And as for any
negociations in K. if my F. there on one side, and the F. C. on t'other, \.ill
not defray such charges, I think it a manifest proof that their good icishes for
us are very faint, and that we have little to expect from them. I have enlarged
the more on these subjects for your information and instruction. For after that,
were occasions of expenses never so pressing, I have not money to lay out upon
them, and it is not in my power to give you credit for the least sum. What-
ever I have, or may have, is to be sure lor you, or rather yours ; but I cannot
give what I have not, and should you take up any more money you must not
expect I should pay it. But for this once, the thing being now done, what you
liave tiiken up from young Waters shall be repayd him, and I write this post to
his uncle on that affair, about which you will hear from him. But it is fit you
sh.ould know, that to pay this money I sliall be forced to take part of it out of
the little fund of one hundred thotisand crowns you know I have here, which I
shall do with great reluctance, because I look upon that small fund to be more
yours than mine, and that I think prudence requires we should endeavour to
have always such a sum at our disposal for our personal wants and uses, since
nobody knows what accidents may happen, and what straits we may be put to
in process of time. I think the same about your jcivels as I do about this fund,
though you are to be sure entirely master of the firet. Neither one nor t'other
can produce a sum which can at present be of any real use towards our restora-
tion, but they may be of great use to us on many occasions for our personal
wants and expenses ; and had you not taken up now this 40,000 livrcs, I shouU
have been able to have given you a small supply for your campaign, if you make
one, and in case the F. C. did not give you what was suflicient ; and I own 1
think it had been much better employed on you than on B. S.; but I cannot
give you what I have not, nor will I run in debt myself to pay yours. I think
I have nothing further to add on these subjects. I owed to myself and to you
to be free and full upon them, and I am sure my dear Carluccio will take all 1
have said as kindly as I mean it, and as it really is, for I am sure I have, nor
can have nothing in view, but your real good and advantage in all respects, of
which, if you had the least doubt, you would wrong me very much.

APPENDIX 473

I have at last named Cardinal Lanet Protector for England, and tne Pope, at
my desire, has given liim tlie Protectorship of tlie Englisli College. (Adieu,
my dear child. I beseech God to bless and direct you, and tenderly embrace
yon, being all yours. We have fine weather, but I am still a good deal deaf
and (a word unintelligible) as usual.

James R.

• No. XXXII.

Letter. — Prince Charles to his Father.

Fnz James, bth Jpril, 1745.

SiH,

I STILL always continue, thank God, in perfect good health, and
that is the only good I can say at present, for I see little apierence of any great
thing from the V. C, or of my making tlie campaigne. I have been also refused
the Pasports I mentioned to you some posts ago, that had been asked by the
Duke of Perth. You may judg by all these things how much reason I have to
be out of umer (humour), h>it notwitlistiinding one must submit to tlie will of
God, and liave patience, for Ictt them do what tlicy will to me, it is absolutely
and unavoidably necessary to bear with it, coute r/iii coute. I only hope in the
Almighty, that he will reward us tor our patience and tonstance. I shant fail
to mention to the B. of Soissons wliat you tell me by yours of y" 16th Marcli,
which I have just now received, and have notliing more to add for the present,
having but disagreeable subjects to dwell upon. I lay myself at your majesty's
feet, most humbly asking blessinc

Your moste dutiful! son,

Charles P.

• No. XXXIII.

Letter. — The same to the same.

Navaere, y' I3th June, 1745.
Sir,

It is a mortification to me not to be able to acknowledg here y
Italian packet. I have found an occasion to send you a letter witli yesterday,
it being by a shure hand. I have said some things in it I cannot put here. I
have notning in the world to add here but that I am, thank God, in a perfect
good health, and receive many civilities and attentions from y folks here, which
all corns from y" Duke of Bouillon. I lay myself at your majesty's feet,
moste humbly asking blessing, and remain.

Your moite dutifuU son,

Charuts p.

476 HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

No. XXXIV

Extract from a Letter of Lord Marischal to the Chevalier de Si George,
dated Aviijnon, September bth, 1744.

I CANT enough admire that your majesty was not suiEciently informed of tlie
affairs Inst icinter:* it confirms me in the opinion for wliich I liave liad good
grounds, that Lord Senipil and Balhady imposed on all sides : on Tjour majes-
ti), as would appear by what you now write ; on your friends in Enyland, by
giving them assurances not all well grounded ; and on the court of France, by
not telling justly the demands of friends in England. Mr Amelot said to me
that he told Lord Sempil, you say one thing, and friends in England another,
■ — lohom am I to believe ? I wish, Sir, it be not found that the Prince has
been more deceived than any one. As to the Duke of Ormond, it is very
plain he was not only excluded from the service, but was to he from any share
in the execution ; the time he was advertised shows this : he has your majesty's
confidence and commission: he has great credit in England, as every (one)
knows. Either Lord Sempil must have abused your majesty's name to have
him excluded, or the court of France must have had such designs as they knew
the Duke of Ormond would not be assisting to : as to myself I shall say little,
only that there was not only no design to employ me, but there was none to any
assistance in Scotland. If Lord Sempil believed what he said, A /s corres-
pondence and intelligence was very bad : if he did not, the mutter is still
worse : he told the Duke of Ormond, before he left the neighbourhood of Pa-
ris, that he would have a message to rccal him before he got to Lyons, and
that he was to coimnand eleven thousand men ready to embark at Brest. Yvur
majesty is wise and just. Can you desire that either tlie Duke <f P. or I un-
d/;rtahe ever any thing on the word of Lord Sempil and Balhady, who not
only have the boldness to impose (as far as they can) on all the world, but
also to conceal from your majesty so great affairs ; and I believe your majes-
ty will find that this odd incognito o( the Prince came in a great measure from
their desire of imposing on him, and tlierefore keeping him from seeing such
as from honor and duty would tell him truth.

•No. XXXV.

Letter supposed to be written by Murray of Broughton under the name q
"J. Barclay" to Prince Charles, without place or date.

Sir,

On the 24th of last month I had the honour to despatch a pretty
large packet for your royal highness. It contained a journal of the most ma
terial occurrences from my leaving Paris, with tne coppys of some letters wrote
by Mr Lumleyfand Lord Waxwrll, with my own remarks upon them, which

• The words in italics arc in ci[)her in tlie original.
f A name assumed liy Sempil.

APPENDIX. 477

were approved of by Loehiel* and Dan. It consists, likewise, of letters from
Lord Elcho and S' James, Dan, witli one to Mr Edgar and one to Mr
Kttli). Your royal highness will see tliat it ou^lit to liave readied you long ere
now, neither was it in my power to remedy the delay. As I could not be the
bearer myself without giving up thoughts of returning to this country ; and your
R. H. will likewise be pleased to observe X). of Perth, was from time to time
disappointed of the ship he prepared to freight for that use ; neitlier has he got
her. Att least has not hitherto acquainted me of it. This obliged me, as 1
<'Ould not in prudence trust it to Mr Blair, to send it by Mr Sinton to London,
from whence I hope he either has already, or will in a day or two, dispatch it;
so that I am hopefuU it will be arrived long before this comes to him, yet
tliouglit it necessary, whatever accident might happen to delay it, to lay hold on
this opportunity of advertising your R. H. that such a packet was on the way.

The Emperor's death makes people here very busy in tlieir conjecture about
the French politicks ; some imagine it may occasion a peace, others that the
French will endeavour to make up matters witli Russia whereby she may be
enabled to make the Elector of Sa.\ony head of the empire, and put King
Stanislaws on tlie throne of Poland ; wliatever may be the consequences I wish
the French may not pretend, tliat being obliged to march tlieir troops to the
Rhine to influence the election, (wliicli tliey proliably will do) necessitates them
to put a further stop to the expedition to Emjland. We liad a report here,
some days ago, that tlie troops had got orders to march for the coasts of Kent
and Sussex. What may be in it I dont know for certain, wliether they have
got any intelligence of preparations on the other side, or if it be done witli a
view to countenance tlieir raising such large sums of money, and perhaps by way
of argument for making more new levies.

There is one particular I must observe, and what I take to be of the utmost
consequence ; Lord Morton, I am informed, has been at Paris all this winter ;
he is one of the most inveterate enemys to y' R. H's family in the island, and
tho' I may be wrong, yet I cant help eonjecturuig, tliat he is there purposely to
discover what is adoing, from which y' K. H. will no doubt be on your guard,
as to what people resorts to y' royal person, and endeavour, if possible, to make
counterspy him, a thing not at all difficult in so large a town. It may be object-
ed that a man of his rank would not be so little as act that part, but it must
be observed, on the other hand, that it is his interest, and I have personally
known as great a man as he acting in the same sphere ; and I must say, altho'
with concern, that the generality of tliis country have atained to that degree of
venality as renders them capable of any thing.

This comes by the Master of Strathallan, who has engaged to deliver it to
Mr Smith.i I settled a correspondence with Mr Andrew Forbes, merchant in
Rotterdam, whom I hope will serve fit for any single letter of no great conse-
quence : tlie letter must be directed to him, and under his cover to Mr Barclay,
which lie will forward to his correspondent, at tlie coffee-house, who will send
it to me, cither by the common post or by some private hand, as Mr Forbes is
desired to acquaint him. Tliis thouglit necessary to advertise y' R. H. of, and
at the same time, in case Mr Fergus'sJ ship should not come in time, if y R. H.
judge it necessary to give us any intelligence of what is doing. Mr Buchanan,
or any other, may safely come by the way of Holland ; and if there is a slup

* The names &c. in italics are in ciphers in the original, but interUr.eJ wiili i!ia
proper names, in the Prince's hand-« tiling. ,.„,„, , „ ..

1 A banker at Boulogne. * The Duke of Perth.

478 HISTORY OF THE H IGIII. A N'DS.

tiiere ready to sail for tliis place, he may, without any questions askeJ, come
hy the packet-boat to Harwich, and upon his arrival here he lias only to ask
for me, at Wr JMacilougal, merchant in this place. I shall take up no more of
V' R. H's time, than to beg leave to subscribe myself, with the utmost venera-
tion and attachment,

May It please your Ro\al Highness,

Voiir Royal Highness's most obedient

Aud most devoted humble servant,

J. UAaci.i^

ENT) OF vor,. 7r.

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